New Beginnings
by Blue Eyes At Night
Summary: After getting off the island, life gets complicated for Kate and Sawyer. As if being on the run wasn't hard enough, a kid triples the trouble...and what happens when Dharma becomes a little too interested in children born from those on the island...AU
1. Off the Island

New Beginnings

By Blue Eyes At Night

_Author's Note: I promised myself time and again that I wouldn't do a Lost fanfiction because I tend to…well I tend to update very slowly. But this little plot bunny has burrowed into my computer room and won't leave so in favor of Terminex I bring you my fic: New Beginnings_

**Prologue: Off the Island**

She shouldn't have wanted to see those helicopters on the horizon. It meant certain detection. It meant that the people on the outside, who knew Katherine Austin was on Ocean815, was either a corpse or a survivor, and they'd be looking for her.

But after going through the hell of fighting Dharma, of trying to overcome the brain child of a genuine mad scientist, even a cell looked better then the stretches of scarred beach and burnt palm trees.

Behind her someone was shuffling through the brush, loudly enough so that he wasn't intruding.

_Sometimes he can be so cute…_Kate thought and let herself smile.

"You can come out Sawyer, I know it's you."

"I knew you could smell blood on the wind." His drawl was even more pronounced because of the worry that tinged the words.

Sawyer strode up and stood next to her. When she shivered in the cool breeze of dusk he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. They hadn't spoken about their situation…they certainly hadn't spoken about the new situation coming ever closer.

"I guess…I guess this is goodbye, Sawyer." Kate craned up her neck and looked at Sawyer's face. His jaw was set as if he was preparing to take a hit…a physical blow might have been far easier to take then those few words.

"I thought you weren't one for goodbye, Kate?"

She did a double take when he said her name. He never really said it often. He liked to depersonalize people by giving them nicknames, it was a way of distancing himself so he didn't get hurt. But when he used her name there was something…it was as if he pronounced it from someplace deep inside him. It gave her goosebumps and she didn't know how to react to it.

Like the best things in life that intonation both terrified and excited her.

"I don't normally say goodbye…but I can't think of anything else to say."

To her surprise Sawyer smirked, "Fresh outta new ideas about how to run?"

"My feet are tired…I think I'll sit this dance out." Kate shifted her backpack so that she could lean on Sawyer's shoulder fully and she wrapped an arm around his waist, "Thanks for the dance, though. It was worth it."

Sawyer paused. Froze.

When was the last time anyone had told him that he was worth it? _Him. _Not the illusion of him that he presented to his marks…but the actual man underneath the skin. How long since he had made someone happy? Since making someone happy had made him so happy?

Hell, when was the last time he had used the word 'happy' so damn much?

He let his eyes settle on Kate. The last thing he had ever expected was to find someone who met him punch for punch. Who kept up with him quip for quip.

And _damned_ if he was going to give up without a fight.

"Hey, Freckles…if I said I had an idea what would you say?"

"I'd say remember what happens when you think too hard…your little brain gets all tuckered out." She smiled against him before looking up and seeing the glint in his eye, "Sawyer…what are you thinking?"

Grabbing Kate's hand he began pulling her towards the caves, "Come on! Keep up, girl!"

"Where are we going?" Kate could keep pace with him and even had to correct his direction when he revealed he was going to Jack, "What do you want with Jack? You gonna give him a kiss goodbye?"

"No, and neither are you." The joking tone had left Sawyer, he was still a little sore that she had kissed Jack.

He didn't say another word until they got to the caves and were face to face with Jack.

"Hey." Jack greeted them, confused by the out of breath couple, "Can I help you?"

"Yeah Doc…we need peroxide and scissors." Sawyer panted out.

Kate's eyes widened as she realized what Sawyer was aiming at.

"What for?" Jack was looking from Kate to Sawyer and back as though trying to inhale the answers.

"I'm not sure if you realize it, Doc, but on the helicopter's that are coming to get us there are probably federal agents coming for our resident Runaway."

"Yeah…." Jack was obviously not following until it dawned on him, "No…no, no. No. That's…that's illegal not to mention risky and…"

"Jack it's ok, we're not asking you to harbor a fugitive." Kate's desire to run had tripled in the few seconds since she had hopped on Sawyer's wavelength, "We're just asking you to look the other way while your peroxide and scissors go magically missing…"

"And you come back with all new short blonde hair!" Jack sat down on the rocky steps and heaved a breath, he focused his gaze hard on Kate, "What makes you think that changing that will throw them off?"

"'Cause cops can be stupid." Sawyer had regained his breath and was stepping into the role he had adopted some weeks ago, protector of Kate, "Now…are you going to help us or do I have to take it when you're on the floor bleeding?"

Jack stood up as if to face off with Sawyer, they'd been doing that a lot since his arm had fully healed, and Kate stepped between them…yet again, "Sawyer! We're not going to hurt Jack, he can help us or we can figure something else out!"

"No…you're not going to figure something else out Kate." Jack spat out, almost angrily, "You've got, what? An hour before those planes get here? If that! This is your chance to escape. To run away again."

He took a breath, "I'm going to go see how Aaron's doing with his cholic…and I'm not going to check my stuff when I get back."

Jack started to walk off towards the beach when Kate ran after him and flung her arms around his neck, "Thank you Jack….thank you."

At first he didn't know how to respond, but he eventually returned the embrace and broke it off before he was tempted to kiss her in front of Sawyer and run the risk of a broken nose.

"Take care of yourself, Kate." He kissed her forehead and then called out, "You too, Sawyer."

"Yeah, yeah…" Sawyer grunted as he pulled Kate away from Jack but he did manage to swallow his pride and say, "You're a good man, Doc…a real good man."

By the time the helicopters landed and the police were loading people onto the choppers, Jack had seen the last of the Kate he knew.

"Name, son?"

"Jack Shepard." They looked over their list for a moment before nodding.

"Name, son?"

"James Ford."

"And who's the girl?"

A slight blonde girl with choppy, filthy hair was shaking against James. When she lifted her face she was crying so hard they could scarcely make it out. She nestled into James and he rubbed her arm comfortingly.

"I'm…so….happy…" She choked out.

"Name, miss?"

"Joanna…"

"Joanna Harper?"

She nodded.

"Okay, thank you."

With that James Ford and his blonde companion walked onto the helicopter. About four hours later they had landed in Los Angeles. When role call came they were two people short.

James Ford and Joanna Harper.

About an hour after that the FBI asked that fatal question, "Anyone see Katherine Austin?"

That's really where the story begins.

**TBC**

_Next Chapter: The Bed Is Made_

_Author's Note: I own NOTHING from Lost, if its not Lost it's prolly mine so bugger off!_

_On a personal note: YOU MUST HARASS ME ABOUT UPDATING OR I PROBABLY WON'T CAUSE I'M LAZY!_

_That being said hope you like it…please review!_


	2. The Bed Is Made

Chapter 1: The Bed Is Made

They hadn't even docked when Sawyer and Kate started running. Standing on an empty end of the boat, they eyed up the distance from the boat to the water.

"You reckon that water's deep enough to jump into?" Sawyer was playing with Kate's newly sheered head of peroxide blonde hair.

"You reckon they'll notice if we dive overboard?" Kate mimicked Sawyer's drawl and pushed his hand away from her hair. She wasn't happy with the butchered state of her pretty mop of curls.

Casting a glance all around them Sawyer twined their fingers and led "Joanna" a few feet to the left. Leaning her against the bar he kissed her jaw and whispered, "Now that we're in the blind spot, I'm sure they won't see us."

As he swung his leg up to the top bar Kate suddenly tugged his arm, forcing him to balance on two legs on the deck again.

"What? I thought we were gonna-"

He never finished the sentence, Kate cut him off with a kiss. The shock wore off quickly and he wrapped his arm around her hips, pulling her closer. Before he could deepen it Kate pulled back, licking her lower lip.

"Thank you."

Sawyer's eyebrows shot up, "Sweetcheeks, you kissed me."

She couldn't resist smiling, "You've done so much for me and-"

Sawyer put a finger on her lips, "You're not getting sentimental on me, are you Freckles?"

He then flipped a lock of her butchered hair into her eye forcing her to shake it out. Kate shook her head at him, still smiling, and swung her leg over the top bar of the deck, "'Course I'm not."

One splash later Sawyer was shaking his head at the bobbing figure in the water, "What a woman."

Another splash later the deck was empty.

-.-.-

"In other news authorities have released their newest description of Miss Austin. She is described as five foot five inches in height with short cropped, bleached blonde hair, brown eyes and a slim build. She was last seen in the company of James Ford alias Sawyer, a noted Con Man. He is described as –"

Kate turned the dial on the radio.

"Oh, come on, Freckles…not even gonna let me hear my description?"

She leaned back, studying the maps in her lap, "If I didn't know better I'd say you were excited about being on the news."

"Well, I'm sure the charm wears off, but I don't get tired of hearing them call me a 'Smooth talking good ol' boy with an athlete's body'…does wonders for my ego." He looked over at Kate with his typical smartass smirk.

She rolled her eyes, "Like your ego needs stroking."

"No, but I can think of other parts that could benefit from the attention, if your feeling so inclined."

Kate shook her head, trying to hold back the smile that his quips put on her face. In an instant she was back to business, "Make the next right…there looks like there's going to be a store or something."

He took the turn and parked in a shady corner, reaching into his pocket he removed a wad of cash that he had managed to get out of his account before the FBI froze it.

"Are you buying plugs again? Cause I don't want a repeat of last time…" Sawyer had learned the hard way that the last thing you want to say to a woman on her period is that you missed the turnoff leading to the drugstore and there won't be another one for…a _long_ time.

"No, I think its time to change my hair color again. The news keeps showing me as a blonde, changing it back to brunette might throw them off again."

"Plus you hate your hair."

"That too." Kate grabbed the twenty Sawyer was holding out for her and threw on a pair of sunglasses. Waltzing into the drugstore she was out in ten minutes, a huge bag in her hands.

"Damn girl…I thought you were just getting hair color." Sawyer peaked into the bag before pushing it away like the plague, "Jesus!"

He shook his hand like he was trying to throw off a bug, "I thought you said you didn't need tampons?"

"Well I have to plan ahead because _someone_ can't follow directions and-" Kate stopped as Sawyer got out of the car and headed toward the drug store, "What are you doing?"

"Buying you some Midol before you _really_ start to PMS."

-.-.-

"I don't know about this Sawyer…"

"Freckles, I got a dollar bill, a dime, a gum wrapper and a condom in my wallet…we need to do this." Sawyer was working on his tie when Kate's whine emitted from the bathroom of the hotel room.

"I know that…I don't know about _this_." She stepped out of the bathroom and Sawyer froze with his tie flopped over one hand, mid-tie.

She was wearing a black and red corset with black fishnets, red ribbon garters and black stilettos, a puffed out black tulle skirt left very little to the imagination.

"You know what…maybe we should forget about the con…you want me to lock the door and help you out of that?" Sawyer finished tying his tie and appraised Kate for a long moment.

Kate rolled her eyes, "Your not helping, I feel like a whore."

"Uh, baby…did you forget that your playing the whore?" Sawyer came over to her, rubbed her shoulders and blatantly stared at her boobs, "Remember? You play the hooker he brings to his room and I play the cop that busts him and he bribes me big time to not arrest him?"

Sawyer even flashed her the badge for effect, the same badge he had taken from the Marshall on the Island. Kate pouted at him, her arms crossed against her chest but whether it was because she felt naked or because she wanted Sawyer to look in her eyes not her breasts was hard to tell.

She gave him big brown eyes and a pout.

"Kate if you're that uncomfortable we can figure something else out…but one way or another we need to get money…and we definitely need to get you out of that outfit."

Cracking a small smile, "It's ok…we need to do this scam. But your _sure_ that you'll be watching and I won't have to sleep with him or anything remotely related to it?"

Sawyer gave her a hard look, "Do you really think I'd let another man touch you? No amount of money could change my mind about that."

"Really?" She twined her arms around his neck, then tracing one leg up his until it wrapped around his hip, "You don't want anyone else to..."

Sawyer growled and in a flash had Kate pinned underneath him on the bed, "Freckles you got two seconds to decide if you want to do this scam or have me rip that off of you…one…two…"

"Sawyer…" She had trouble getting out what she wanted to say, being distracted by Sawyer nibbling her ear, then going down her neck, kissing the hollow of her throat. He was on the swell of her breast when she finally said, "We need the money. We have to stop…."

He groaned but stood up, lifting her with him, "It's true what they say about women…"

"What do they say?" Kate walked over to the mirror and applied some obnoxiously red lipstick, applied some mascara and eyeliner and truly completely the whore look.

"They say: 'When women go wrong, men go right after them.'" Sawyer came up behind her.

"Who is they?" Kate asked as she looked over her face and decided that she looked quite whorish enough.

"Mae West."

"Trust a whore to quote a whore." Kate rolled her eyes.

Sawyer wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, "Look who's talking!"

After one last kiss they stalked out of the room, predators preparing to spring upon their unsuspecting victim. Twenty thousand dollars later they were in their truck, parked in a dark alley way, finishing what they'd started earlier.

-.-.-

"- In other news, the FBI suspect that Katherine Austin and James "Sawyer" Ford are responsible for a number of cons recently committed in the Mid-West. In all these cons a beautiful young woman compromises a wealthy man who then pays off her counterpart who is sometimes posing as a cop, other times posing as a journalist…although evidence suggests that they also might have robbed-"

"You seeing this?" Jack Shepard was on his fourth cup of coffee, sitting in the staff room, taking a well deserved break for a phone call.

"Seeing what?" A string of angry sounding Spanish erupted followed by some banging pots, "What are you watching?"

"CNN…they think Kate and Sawyer are conning people, robbing places…"

A long breath was released, "Well, what did you really expect, Jack? They can't exactly go apply for a position at Starbucks part-time or something…they're criminals."

"You're a cop, Ana," He continued, "Do you see them getting caught? Do you think the running is all in vain?"

Ana Lucia contemplated the question for a moment, "I think that since the Island everybody knows him, so that doesn't help. They already knew her so that didn't matter too much but it ruins the fact that they were running together. But…they're good. I mean, this is like…what she does. She's an expert and he's no first timer…"

"There's a nasty 'but' isn't there?" Jack sipped the Folger's and glanced at the clock, break was almost up.

"But no one can run forever. Someone's going to catch them eventually."

"I know it sounds wrong…but I'm rooting for Sawyer and Kate." Jack threw out the Styrofoam cup he'd been drinking from.

A small laugh, "Don't tell anyone…but I'm rooting for them too."

Jack couldn't help a smile, "Your secret's safe with me, Ana…listen my break's winding down and I have a lot of paperwork to sort through. Your flying in Sunday, right?"

"I can't believe I let you talk me into getting back on a plane after what happened last time…yes Sunday. Flight 913 from LA should get there about 5:30."

"Great…perfect timing. We can go right out for dinner." Jack jotted down the flight information one last time before saying, "Can't wait…see you then."

-.-.-

Kate groaned and leaned her forehead against the window of the truck. It had been cool twenty minutes ago but now it was warm and sweaty, just like her. She was curled up in the fetal position feeling like Hell warmed over.

"You alright, Freckles?"

She got him a dirty look and groaned again, leaning her head against a different part of the window looking for a cool spot.

_Stupid question_ He thought.

Without warning Kate dove for the floor of the passenger's side and stuck her head into a bag, vomiting with a potency that Sawyer had never seen in all the binge's he'd had in his life. He had seen it coming though…the same thing had happened yesterday. And the day before. And the day before.

Everyday Kate thought it was a flu or a 24 hour bug…but going on 72 hours Sawyer was doubting it was a bug or the flu.

He didn't know what was happening to the spunky, sexy girl he knew…and it was starting to scare him. What was wrong with her? Why was she so sick?

"Maybe…maybe you're allergic to something." He suggested, watching her pause for a breath before puking again.

"Yeah, those saltines are real bitches to the digestion." She growled at him giving him the look that stated _This is all your fault, I don't know how but it's all your fault_.

He had learned not to argue with that look…there was no use pissing her off when she was teetering on the edge of insanity unless he _wanted_ to be castrated.

"Are you…are you sure?" Sawyer stumbled over the words, uncomfortable with the topic.

"Do you want me to go in and get it?" Kate was curled up in the passenger's seat with a water bottle on the back of her neck.

"No… no you hold tight, Sweetcheeks." He made to get out of the car but stopped to look back at her, "You _sure_ you want this?"

"Just get it! Then we'll know if I needed it or not!"

He slammed the door to put a barrier between himself and the savage beast. When he came back she was halfway through a sleeve of saltines and looking happier then ten minutes ago. He handed her the little bag and shuddered, it was as if he'd been holding something particularly offensive.

"I think your nuts asking for that…I mean…its not going to do anything…you just…have a cold."

The saltine that was halfway into her mouth dropped to her lap and they shared an intensely serious stare. Most of their relationship evolved from one-liners, quips, repartee and raw sexual energy. Seriousness wasn't abounding…mostly because they were constantly up to their necks in extremely serious situations. Like running from the FBI and figuring out ways to con people out of large amounts of money without being caught.

"Sawyer…I…" She swallowed her cracker and tried again, "I hope your right but we have to check this. We have to cover all bases…cause this is one bitchin' flu."

She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door of the pickup.

"You're going _now_?" Sawyer asked, obviously lost once more in the vast world of women.

Kate shrugged as she took the pregnancy test out of the bag, "Carpe diem."

"Don't you _Carpe Diem_ me until after you've peed on the stick, ok?" He looked nervous, twitchy. Continuously playing with the radio or tapping his fingers on the dash Sawyer reminded Kate of Charlie when he was going through withdrawal.

She leaned in and kissed his cheek, "Five minutes, ok?"

-.-.-

"So…blue means knocked up, right?"

Kate had her head on her knees and mutely nodded.

"So…we're having a baby?"

Balancing her chin on her knees Kate stared out at the road. They were driving again, they couldn't decide on something better to do after she'd taken the test. Blue. It was fucking blue.

"Are we having a baby, Sawyer?" Her voice was paper thin and weak.

"I thought blue meant…"

"I know blue means positive but…I mean…how on earth are we going to deal with this? We're on the run! We can't just drop in at a clinic or something…abortion or birth we're on our own…and if we have it…" She let out a long breath, to Sawyer it almost sounded like she was on the verge of crying. He pulled over. The highway they were on was nearly abandoned, there was no one to see him as he grabbed one of her hands and rubbed it gently.

"What are we going to do, Sawyer?"

He thought about it for a moment, a long moment. The silence in the car seemed to suffocate Kate as she waited for the verdict.

"Well…" Sawyer exhaled a long breath, "the bed is made. Suppose we're stuck laying in it."

**TBC**

_**Next Chapter: A New Edition**_

_Author's Notes: As stated by the summary, they're having the baby. Yay! I love the Skate baby, or rather the idea of one. But I don't think they would EVER sit down and plan a baby, I think it would take them by COMPLETE surprise, so I really want to emphasize their surprise and almost reluctance._

_**Things you alert readers should ponder: Just how hard is it to name a baby? When will PB&J come into this fic? And…how DOES one go about giving birth on the run?**_

_REMEMBER TO HARASS ME! I'm trying out this new thing where I write a summary for each chapter in advance, that way I'm not writing without an idea and I can start like four chapters like that, and that way I have some cushion to fall on in case updating/ideas run dry at some point._

_On a personal note: RARELY do I update so swiftly…don't become complacent, continue to harass me. When the first week goes by without an update, PMing and IMing and Email are good things to abuse_

_THANKS!_

_REVIEW PLEASE_


	3. A New Edition

Chapter 2- A New Edition

"Hey…do these pants make me look fat?" Kate poked her stomach for the millionth time as she and Sawyer walked back to the truck having enjoyed a delicious truck-stop dinner.

"Sweetcheeks…I don't think they call it 'fat'…"

She turned on him, her eyes a little wide, "But…but I can't be _showing_ already! I'm only…"

"Four months? Seems bout right to me." Sawyer put an arm around her shoulders. Before he knew what was happening he was slapped right across the face.

"This is _your fault_." Kate blazed.

"What? We used protection! It's only 99 effective, Freckles. Don't blame me for the faulty manufacturing of Trojans." He put his hands up in defense, her mood swings took some getting used to…he was beginning to think he needed to buy a cup in case she ever got any of her knee-jerk tendencies back.

"I blame the sperm that got through! What the hell is wrong with your sperm? Why can't it hit the latex like all the others? Why do I have to choose the one guy on the whole fucking planet with Mighty Sperm?"

"That any relation to Mighty Mouse?" He opened the passenger door for her and by the time she was sitting down she was mopey again.

"Sawyer…am I still going to be pretty when I'm fat?"

"I don't think they call it 'fat', Freckles…" He tried again.

"So you **DO** think I'm fat!"

Times like these Sawyer wondered what drug he'd been on when he told her to keep it. If babies did this to women he had no idea why the world had problems with overpopulation. Who put themselves through this for the hell of it?

Sometimes he thought he wouldn't get this badly abused in prison.

But then again in prison he was far less likely to have such a pretty (and female) roommate.

Rock. Hard place.

_----_

"Is it blue or pink?"

"I don't know yet, the time isn't up. You're a doctor, don't you know you can't rush results?" Ana Lucia snapped at Jack as she walked to the couch he was sitting on.

Tapping his foot impatiently Jack eyed the clock, "Maybe you should-"

"Jack!" Ana snapped. When he looked sufficiently chastised she smiled and patted his knee. Knee pats were about as touchy-feely as Ana got without some sort of catalyst.

The timer buzzed Jack jumped up, chomping at the bit to check the results of their pregnancy test, but he soon realized he had jumped up alone. Turning his head he saw Ana Lucia still sitting on the couch, lost in thought.

"Ana…"

A sniffle told him that he was going to have to wait a bit longer to see those results.

Jack took a breath and let it out again, he took a seat next to Ana and grabbed one of her hands, "Listen, I…I understand if your having a lot of painful flashbacks. If you want to just sit here for a minute and-"

"I don't want it to happen again." She cut in, her voice a little deeper because she was trying not to cry. She had cried far too much about this already, it was all in the past and she wanted to make herself let go.

"You don't want to have a baby or you don't want to risk losing a baby?" It took a lot to fight off saying 'my baby' instead of 'a baby'.

She didn't meet his eyes, just turned her head and looked out the window.

"Last time I…Danny…" Ana motioned with her hands hoping she could communicate all the scars on her heart but she couldn't. Luckily, Jack was passed words with her.

"I'm not Danny, Ana…and I'm not going to leave you." Jack reached out and cupped her face in his hand, "You understand that I'm not going anywhere right? I'm like a bad hangover, right?"

Ana cracked a smile at the joke, one she had made when they first got together. But she didn't respond to Jack's question. He gently lifted her left hand to her face so that the diamond solitaire on it glittered in her eye, "I'm not going _anywhere_ without you, Ana."

"You say that now but what if…." She hadn't meant to voice those fears that she buried in a part of her heart she liked to pretend was dead.

"What if…..what?" Jack had the patience of a saint with her. He was a doctor and in many ways she was someone desperately in need of healing. It was such an attractive feature to him, and the amount of healing Ana needed made her irresistible. But it wasn't like Sarah, it was different, deeper. He had felt the hum of tension between them the first time they met, and it was the good tension. The tension that made you step up your game and try to play your cards _just_ right.

He would've befriended her if she wasn't in need of his particular brand of care. She was strong, smart, and she kept him on his toes. She was as high maintenance and low maintenance as he was. She was his perfect foil…and she needed him. She'd die before she admitted it, but she needed him. And in many ways he needed her too.

"I know we talked about kids and…I know you want them. You know I want them…it's just…" She hid her face in her hands, smoothed her hair and tried to speak again, "Those bullets did a lot of damage to me. What if I can't have kids?"

"Ana I-"

"Don't say you love me Jack...just let me finish. I know you need to heal me… and I know I need to be healed. What if this is something you can never heal, Doctor? What then?"

Jack took a deep breath. Of course he'd considered that option but there was no use simply telling her that.

"Ana…I do want a family. But I don't think you quite understand that _you're my_ _family now_." He leaned in close to her so that his words were merely whispers against her skin, "I love you. I don't see you as damaged, and if you can't have children I wouldn't leave you. Would you leave me if I was sterile?"

"No but-"

"No buts, Ana." He stood up and offered her his hand, "You're stuck with this hangover for a _long_ time."

She smiled and let him help her up, "Let's go check the test."

----

"Corn dogs!"

Sawyer nearly swerved off the road when Kate gripped his arm and practically threw him into the windshield so he could see the sign "Georgia's Finest Corn Dogs!".

"God damn woman! You want to get us killed for a fried hot dog?"

"Yes." She tugged at his arm like a five year old, "Can we _please_ stop? I want a corn dog _really_ badly."

"Yesterday you wanted pineapples, the day before it was chili, the day before it was cheesecake…what the hell is in your stomach?"

"The fruit of our loins now _pull over_."

It was face the firing squad or pull over. So he pulled over. When he finally found parking outside the joint he saw it was positively _crawling_ with people. Not just people. There were a couple of off-duty cops.

"Uh, Freckles. Does the pig in your stomach want to find more of its kind? We got cops here."

Kate bit her lower lip. She might be pregnant, but she wasn't stupid. She couldn't just go traipsing around cops…it was crazy, beyond crazy! Looking down at her stomach she saw the slight swell. At five months she was really starting to show but it wasn't big enough to prevent her from seeing her feet, so it was still cute in her book.

And the cuteness wanted a corn dog…_badly_.

"What if I wear some sunglasses and put my hair up?"

"Are you _crazy?_ Kate there's two policemen out there!" Sawyer ran a hand threw his hair, "You're willing to be recognized for a corn dog? You do realize that our one advantage over them is that they don't know you're pregnant? One of those guys takes notice of your pretty little face and suddenly we lose the only Ace we got!"

Kate was biting her lip so hard it threatened to split.

"But I want-"

"A corndog! I know you want a damned corndog. People in hell want ice water!" He started up the truck again but when he looked over at her she was giving him the puppy eyes.

A devious glint flashed in her eyes, "You know…I want that corndog…pretty badly…"

She spoke she ran a hand from his knee to his thigh and let it creep towards his fly.

"Freckles are you going to trade me sex for a corndog?"

"If that's what it takes."

----

"Aaron's asleep." Charlie announced as he closed the door behind him.

"How come it takes you a half an hour to put him to bed and it takes me five minutes?" Claire folded her arms over his chest, silently accusing him of spinning wild tales for the toddler that the boy could barely comprehend.

"What? No crime against bedtime stories…" Charlie began unbuttoning his shirt, "Turniphead loves my stories…and he's such a good audience! Not like those blighters I used to play for, he genuinely cares about my artistic creativity."

"He's two, Charlie. The most artistic creativity he does is with Crayons on the wall."

"And kid's a bleeding genius with them." Charlie offered her a You-Love-Me-_Because_-I'm-Mad smile and she fell for it, leaning in to kiss him.

"Have I thanked you today?"

"For being a fantastic boyfriend, a loving substitute father and dynamite in the sack? No, but I won't stop you if you feel so inclined."

Claire wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Pushing him back on the bed she straddled him…only to have her knee land painfully on something in his pocket.

"Ow!" She rolled off him and rubbed her knee, she'd bruise if a butterfly ran into her and she knew she'd have an ugly spot there in the morning.

Charlie's face suddenly went bright red, "You alright?"

"Fine…" Claire rubbed the spot again and reached out to touch the bulge in his pocket, "What is that thing?"

"Uh…what thing? It's nothing…it's trash…it's…" Charlie tried to back out of her reach but she eventually pinned him down and forcibly turned out his pocket. She no longer suspected drugs on him…they had long since had that row.

"What's this…" She held the small velvet box in her hands before its meaning dawned on her and she gasped, dropping it, "Charlie is that…"

Charlie dove to the floor to get the box and while he was there went to one knee, "This wasn't how I was planning it but….Claire…"

She was still a bit short of breath and every minute growing shorter of breath. Charlie opened the box to reveal a platinum ring with a round cut diamond.

"Claire…would you….would you…" He couldn't for the life of him remember the words, he looked around the room frustrated as though hoping something would reveal it to him.

"Marry you?" Claire offered.

"That's the ticket." Charlie offered the box to her inspection again and was relieved beyond measure when she took the box and held it close to her eyes, trying to examine it through the growing tears.

"Oh Charlie it's beautiful…what are those little stones around it?"

"That's sand." He smiled at this announcement proudly, as proudly as Aaron when he used the bathroom all on his own.

"Sand?" Claire was wondering if she was hearing things.

"From the island…I had them put same from the island in the setting around the diamond…cause that's where we met. And that's where Aaron was born. And that's where I knew I loved you, Claire." Charlie looked at her adoringly and she returned his lopsided smiled.

Shaking she took the ring out of the box and put it on her finger.

"Oh Charlie!" Flinging her arms around him and kissing him, she assumed that he knew she was saying 'yes'.

----

Sawyer had a hat low over his face as he stood in line at the 7-11 with Slim Jims and Diet Coke for him and a Slushie, a cheese-filled pretzel and a box of Twinkies for the mother of his child (whom he was beginning to think was fathered by Hurley "Lard Ass" Reyes because of all the junk it ate). Kate was wading her massive belly through the isles for any other toxic waste to feed their unborn child when the TV over the cashier's head flipped from local to national news.

"Hey…Sweetcheeks… look at the news." He summoned Kate with a wave of his arm.

"In other news wedding bells are ringing for Dr. Jack Shepard and Officer Ana-Lucia Cortez. The couple, as you may well remember, were among the survivors rescued from the island owned by the Dharma corporation. When the survivors managed to get through the Corporations elaborate set up and call for help more then forty people were rescued. Many achieving instant stardom-"

The picture on the screen changed from the news' caster's head to a video of Ana Lucia and Jack having a beach wedding.

"You'd think they'd be about sick of the beach….is that what I think it is?" Kate nodded her head towards the close up of Ana and Jack, careful not to upset the massive sunglasses obscuring most of her face.

"- as you can see in that picture the couple are expecting their first child due sometime in the early spring. This is the first couple to _officially_ tie the knot from the island although convicts Kate Austin and James Ford made like Bonnie and Clyde before the rescue ships even docked in LA. Their whereabouts are still unknown although authorities did scan the Cortez-Shepard party for the pair. In other news…"

"That's $22. 95 please." The cashier said and Sawyer had to pull his eyes from the TV screen to see his purchases.

He thought the total was stupidly high before realizing that Kate had thrown in a few more items: Ding Dongs, French's Mustard, Croutons and 3 different pints of Ben and Jerry's ("Freckles you better eat that ice cream before it melts all over my truck").

As they settled into the car and Kate delved into Chunky Monkey Sawyer finally had time to digest the news he'd just heard.

"Don't that just take the cake?"

"Cake?" Kate's ears perked up and a drip of ice cream oozed down her chin.

"It's a metaphor, Sassafrass, you can't eat it." Sawyer started up the engine and mused, "Never would've thought our resident Boy Scout, Honor Code, Straight Laced Doctor Boy would have a shotgun weddin'."

"It's sweet isn't it?" Kate was already halfway done with the Chunky Monkey and eyeing up the pint of Half Baked.

"Sweet? I know what you have to do to make babies, now I'm gonna _die_ with the image of that skinny ass man all over Rambina." He shuddered for effect but after a moment he turned to Kate with a smile on his face.

Reaching out a hand to tuck a stray curl behind her ear he says, "Well, least we ain't the only ones with a bun in the oven."

"Bun?"

_I have to stop using food metaphors…_

----

"Sawyer-"

"We are _not_ stopping for you to pee."

"But I have to-"

"You peed twenty minutes ago!"

"I'm sorry that there's a fetus playing kickball with my bladder! Maybe you want to try carrying the spawn of Satan?"

"Now baby, last night you were calling me God…you might wanna make up your mind." Sawyer managed to smile even though the fact that Kate had ceased to be able to go an hour without peeing four times was wearing on his last nerve.

At the rate they were going the FBI was going to catch them when Kate made him pull into an Exxon so she can sample the many delights of gas station lavatories. That would be fun. He could see the headlines:

_Vicious Felons Caught With Pants Down_

Now he had nothing against that title…but if they were going to run it there was a much different connotation that he would've liked associated with it. For example, running that headline with a picture of him and Kate being hauled out of hotel room clad only bed sheets and whipped cream would be so much better then running it with a picture of Jose the gas attendant asking him if he wanted his oil checked while Kate tinkled.

He turned into the next rest-stop much to Kate's glee, she waddled to the bathroom in as much of a hurry as a woman who was eight months pregnant could.

_Carpe friggin' Diem. _Sawyer thought as he stretched his legs and sauntered over to the snack machine and stocked up on Apollo bars and Twizzlers (Kate's craving of choice this week). The last thing he expected was to hear an excited squeal and have Kate tug his arm half-off his body.

"Sawyer!" She whispered, wouldn't do to draw too much attention to themselves, "Look! Look at this!"

Handing him an Entertainment Weekly she gestured to the upper left corner: "Pace Pacing Down Aisle". Next to it was a thumbnail of Charlie in a tux looking nervous as a schoolboy on his first date. Kate tore the magazine out of Sawyer's hands and flipped through it until she saw the page dedicated to the Drive Shaft guitarist's wedding. There were paparazzi shots of Claire in a white sun dress and pictures of little Aaron as the ring-bearer. A shot of the happy couple kissing. A picture of Charlie and his brother hugging. Aaron and the little flower girl, Charlie's niece.

The article had nothing bad to say about the Pace family. They loved the fact that Charlie and Claire met on the island and that Aaron was born there and that Charlie was adopting him… there were quotes from the couple as well.

"Oh listen to this, 'Claire is the reason I'm clean and level headed…she's the first person that makes me _want_ to grow up'. 'Charlie is a big goofball, he always makes me laugh and he genuinely cares about Aaron. He's not an obnoxious pop star at all, he's very down to earth.'. Oh, Sawyer, isn't that cute?"

"Cute? Your hormones must be haywire again." He would rather die then admit that he was kind of happy to see Charlie and Claire get married. Although with Jack and Ana Lucia hitched and multiplying it seemed like the bachelors of the island were dropping like flies…

"Come on, Freckles…let's get back on the road." Sawyer swung an arm around Kate's shoulder and kissed her hairline, the other hand snuck up to her stomach. He wouldn't admit it to her, but they both knew he liked to check up on things in the womb every once in a while.

----

"You know," Kate chewed on a Twizzler thoughtfully, "it took Claire a long time before she thought of 'Aaron'. Maybe we should start throwing names around."

Sawyer tried to grab a Twizzler but Kate slapped his hand away.

"What do you think about Annie?" Sawyer asked.

"Out." Kate didn't hesitate.

"Why?"

"I used that as a fake name in Australia when I was on the run. I was working for this really sweet-"

"Save me the sob story…what about Margaret? It was my aunt's name."

_The aunt that took me in_ went without saying but nonetheless Kate shot it down instantly saying, "I used that name when I seduced this-"

"Don't finish that sentence!" Sawyer pushed his long hair out of his face, "How 'bout _you_ throw around some names?"

Kate opened an Apollo bar and thought. It had to be a nice name.

"What about Jessica?"

"Out." Sawyer wasn't the kind to offer explanations but Kate knew out meant either his childhood or his scams, and either was she wasn't going to fight him.

"How about…Amy?"

A fond smile crept onto his face followed by an enthusiastic, "_Hell_ no."

She rolled her eyes, "Between my fake IDs and your many notched bed post, we should probably move to boy's names…"

"How about Shep?" Sawyer immediately offered, "I always liked Shep."

"Shep's nice….for a sheep dog." Kate shook her head, "No."

"What about Ace?"

The candy bar froze on the way to Kate's mouth as she fixed Sawyer with a glare, "It's a baby, Saywer, not suit for cards."

"Arthur?"

Kate snorted at the offer, "Arthur? That is the last name I would've thought you'd suggest…so…nerdy."

"Arthur as in the Fonze? Come on, Freckles! You never watch Happy Days?"

"I'm not naming my child after a womanizing greaser."

"I suppose 'James' is out of the running then." Sawyer gave her a big grin and nodded, "I don't hear any suggestions from you."

"Harry?"

"No…I'm not making any son of mine a 'wizard'."

"Jacob?"

Sawyer didn't say anything just looked at her oddly and gave his head a pronounced shake.

"Clark?"

"As in Kent? As in Superman? No and while you're at it count out Lex, Bruce, Dick, Robin, Peter, Parker and any one else who was at any time a Superhero or the alias of a Superhero."

"What about Leslie?"

Sawyer genuinely shuddered and looked like he'd just tasted something particularly nasty, "No girly names."

Both were silent and frustrated for a long time. There wasn't anything to see where they were driving, just miles of desert on all sides. After an hour they passed a gigantic sign for a Sam's Club.

"You ever wonder if the Sam that Sam's Club is named for is a man or a woman?"

Eyeing her wearily Sawyer shook his head, "Never put much thought…if they just say Sam its hard to tell."

"Sam's nice, though. It's discreet. Gets the job done and no one has to know what you are until they meet you. No judgments. It's not like Butch or Sunshine is coming. It's Sam. It's almost ambiguous."

It was as if lightening struck both Sawyer and Kate at exactly the same moment. Without speaking they smiled at each other and nodded.

**TBC**

_**Author's Notes: **_

_**I was going to include the little miracle's birth but I decided to wave it to next chapter for effect.**_

_Questions to ponder: Just what kind of nicknames will Sawyer bestow on the fruit of his loins? How **would** Kate deal with labor when she can't have a doctor, a hospital or even an epidural? How exactly do you go about raising a child when your on the run from the FBI and when your only source of income isn't exactly…legitimate._

_**I appreciate every single review I get! A slight warning: next chapter might not have much Jana or PB&J, as the outline stands now its purely Skate but I might add them in (doubtful)**_

_**I was trying to do an update weekly thing…so I will do my best to update once a week. **_

_**But I liked where this chapter was and felt that adding too much more would be rambling.**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW! (and never stop harassing! You're doing great girls!)**_


	4. First Steps

Chapter 3- First Steps

_Author's Note: In case you are unfamiliar, Wawa's are like 7-11's and CVS's are just drugstores, but thanks to American capitalism both of these things now come SuperSized._

"Will you stop hitting every goddamn pothole in the goddamn road!" Kate's face was torn between seething and whining as she pressed one hand to her lower back with a wince.

Sawyer quirked an eyebrow, "You poppin' crazy pills, Baby Maker? Rides been smooth as glass."

"Are you kidding? We've been jostling around for a half an hour!" Exasperated, Kate flung her head against the tattered headrest. Suddenly she winced again, "Ow!"

"What?" Sawyer's eyes darted from Kate to the road as he contemplated which was more important during rush hour freeway traffic.

"I think a spring must've popped in this seat and the potholes must be jamming it in my back." Rubbing her back with both hands she continued, "We need some more of those stick on heat pads, little fuckers are worth twice their weight in gold."

Deciding that since the traffic wasn't going to bitch to him if he pulled over, Sawyer looked for an exit and managed to merge into three different lanes in thirty seconds without killing anyone. He began scanning the distance for possible pit stops because he knew it had been over an hour since Kate's last pee and she was probably due really soon. Up ahead was a giant Wawa, heaving a sigh of relief Sawyer pulled into it.

Giant Wawa's and their like had become a sort of religion with Sawyer. He constantly prayed they would pop up and he got way too excited when he saw that they were the expanded Wawa's with a gas station attachment. Not to mention he was developing an addiction for mixing Slurpee's and the Super CVS stores simply couldn't compete in that department.

They were in the farmlands of PA, lucky for Saywer, he never had to go too long before he found another Wawa. Pulling into the gas station of the Wawa, Sawyer got out to fill up the tank but when he stood up he found his wallet was gone. Looking around his eyes settled on the figure of Kate, who turned waving his own wallet at him as though saying 'You know you love me'. She was waddling to the bathrooms, waddling being the only thing she could do with her nine-months-pregnant-too-big-to-see-her-shoes stomach. Recently that whole natural beauty of pregnancy had faded into constantly feeling like an elephant stomping around a china shop.

The sad thing was that she was too big to fit in a regular stall and wound up waiting for the handicapped stall everywhere she went. But it was handy, she had metal handles to help her out of the toilet (which were, sadly, quite necessary).

Her back was killing her and her lower half was still jiggling and beginning to throb. She thought she had to pee. _Badly_.

That's why she was taken completely by surprise when she heard a RUSH of water and felt a flood leave her body…but she hadn't peed at all.

_Oh dear god…my water broke. MY WATER BROKE!_

Trying to calm down Kate assessed her situation. Her water just broke in a Wawa in farm-country Pennsylvania. She and her boyfriend were on the run from the FBI. She was nine months pregnant. Her water just broke. And she couldn't go to a hospital.

_Well…here goes nothing._

Kate tried to wipe up the liquid that had dripped onto the seat of the toilet, but luckily most of it had actually gotten in the bowl. Talk about small favors. She flushed and waddled in an almost run out to the truck. Halfway there the first strong pain hit her back and she nearly fell over in pain.

"Kate!" Sawyer was by her side before she realized she needed him to be there. He wrapped an arm around her, "What's wrong, Momma Bear? You get some bad porridge in there or-"

"My water broke, Sawyer." She whispered urgently, "We need to get out of here…now."

Sawyer's face paled, without another word he helped her into the truck and drove.

Maybe the panic made it worse, it certainly couldn't have made it better, but Kate felt like all those hours that are suppose to lapse in between the water breaking and the labor actually happening disappeared. It seemed one minute she was getting into the car and the next she was squeezing Sawyer's hand and screaming as a contraction hit her, forcing him to finally pull over to the side of the road.

Kate swung her legs up so that she was laid across the bench seat of the car, her back against Sawyer.

"Kate…maybe you want to put your legs down?"

"They…want…to be….up." She growled in between contractions, squeezing his hands painfully hard.

"Ow! Dammit!" Sawyer was forced to grit his teeth against the slew of comments that ran to his mouth. Suddenly Kate yelped, it was like a spike of bright red against a black backdrop. The sound itself _sounded_ like blood.

"Why'd you-"

Before he could finish Kate lifted a hand that had flown between her legs. It had blood on it.

"Sawyer…." The whine emitted helplessly from her lips. She was panicking twice as badly and the contractions were getting closer and more intense.

Sawyer had no idea what to do.

"Maybe you want to think about a hospital, Sweet Cheeks?" All he could do was stare at the blood, was blood bad? Can't be good.

"NO!" Kate held her breath against a contraction and began turning blue.

"BREATHE DAMMIT!" Sawyer shook her gently, "Don't you stop _breathing_ on me, Freckles! It's gonna take two of us to do this as it is!"

"Two? TWO! WHO'S DOING ALL THE WORK? I DON'T SEE YOU HAVING DOING ANYTHING EXCEPT SITTING ON YOUR ASS!" She emphasized her works by hitting Sawyer sharply over and over until another wave of pain made her focus.

"HELP ME WILL YOU?"

"What the hell can I do?"

"I don't know…CATCH IT OR SOMETHING!"

A particularly rough contraction seized her and she mewled like a wounded camel before turning on Sawyer, her eye's so dark he swore they were black but blazing like hot coals.

"WE…ARE…._NEVER_…HAVING….SEX….AGAIN!" A final scream came as the contraction ended. Sighing and sweating Kate turned to him with panicked eyes, "I can't do this. Sawyer I can't do this!"

"Yes.You.Can." The words came out fast like bullets, he took a breath and slowed, "Kate you're the strongest person I know. You got more heart the its fair for any person to have and I know if you wanna do something then dammit it's gonna get done… now you just set your mind to having this baby and it'll all go easier. You just gotta breathe and focus. Breathe and focus. Breathe and-"

"I'M BREATHING!" Another contraction, but this one didn't seem to end. The muscles in her legs were quivering as she pushed.

In that moment Sawyer appreciated the strength of women. Their bodies had it hard-wired inside of them, the knowledge about how to give birth, how to create life. Here they were without any knowledge, any doctor's, any how-to guides and Kate seemed to be getting along.

Growling ferally, Kate hunched over her large stomach and pushed so hard her face was nearly black because it was so red. Taking a sharp breath she kept pushing, baring her teeth like a hissing cat and digging into him with her nails.

He glanced at the clock. 11:03 P.M. Had it really been six hours since this all began?

Kate violently pushed herself up, heaving and straining with everything she had and letting out a scream of intense agony…before collapsing against Sawyer.

"The head…I think the head's out!"

In the cramped space of the truck cab Sawyer couldn't see. So he opened the driver's door and carefully walked around to the passenger's side, opening the door and…

"Woah! That is….a vagina. AND A HEAD!" The stench of fluids he couldn't identify (and frankly had no desire to identify) hit him like a ton of bricks and he had to take a step back.

"DON'T YOU DARE FAINT!" Kate screamed.

"I ain't faintin' girl!" Sawyer came back and pushed Kate's flowered sundress up her knees a little, "I just…I ain't never seen one with a head in it that ain't mine!"

"SHUT UP AND HELP M-" A scream cut off the last part of the sentence as she began to push again.

Without thinking too much Sawyer dove his hands forward and cupped the head of the baby. It was covered in all sorts of goop that he knew he was _never_ going to get out of the truck upholstery. One might push later and suddenly he was holding an whole tiny body, not just a head.

And it was _wiggling_.

"Stop moving, jitterbug, or I'm gonna drop you and then your Momma's gonna drop me!" He made to move with it when he noticed it was still…attached.

"Kate…I got a uh…" He held up the baby and nodded to the cord, "…an attachment here."

"You have to cut it." Her voice sounded as though she'd been gargling with gravel for an hour.

Shifting the infant so that it was balanced in one arm he took a pocket knife from his jeans and cut the cord. As he did he looked up and saw Kate begin to push again.

"Woah! There isn't another one, is there?" He held the wriggling red newborn to his shirt as though afraid it would start multiplying if unrestrained.

Then a blob of blood, and insides and…

"Dear God, what the _hell_ is that!"

"Placenta." Kate weaked balanced on her elbows and smiled tiredly at him.

"Placenta?" Sawyer repeated.

She nodded.

"How can you say _placenta_ like its _French Fries_ or _Ice Cream_?"

"Sawyer, can I hold it? What is it?"

He had momentarily forgotten that he was holding their newly born child and suddenly slammed the door to the passenger's side and raced around to hop into his original seat. As he did Kate shifted her torso to see the filthy, gooey mess in his hands.

She looked the baby all over, finally stopping in one particular area.

"It's a girl."

They both broke out into uncontrollable smiles.

Kate adjusted how she was sitting so she wasn't leaning on her hands and held out her arms, "Let me hold her?"

Sawyer obediently passed her over to her mother. He had a daughter. He was a father. He looked at the bundle in Kate's arms.

"She's naked." He stated.

"Um…yeah." Kate smiled at him oddly, "Did you expect her to come out with little booties and some Huggies on?"

"I just…she needs some clothes." Sawyer fumbled in the back seat until he pulled out an old flannel shirt of his and passed it to Kate, "Here, wrap that around her."

As she did the baby gave a little cough and flailed its tiny arms.

That's when the tapping came.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Sawyer looked wildly to the window and froze. His heart stopped and he saw Kate clutch the infant to her chest as it started to cry for the first time.

It was a policeman.

Sawyer remembered the gun taped to the bottom of his seat, an easy reach. Quickly glancing to Kate she shook her head. No, they couldn't shoot first anymore.

So he rolled down the window.

"Hello officer…" He couldn't think of how to end the salutation. How did one greet a police officer when you were on the run from the FBI with a girlfriend who had finished giving birth inside your truck (which now smelled like an awful mix of blood, sweat and womb juice).

"Son we got some calls saying there was a truck on the side of the road, might need help." The officer threw a beam of flashlight on Kate and looked around the truck, "Did you just…I mean to say…"

The light beam traveled from Kate's bloodied legs to the liquid dripping all over the car to the uncleaned baby.

"Did you just give birth in a truck, m'am?"

Kate slowly nodded, "Yeah."

The officer was silent. How exactly did one respond to this situation? Obviously this was not a scenario in the training manual.

"Why didn't you go to a hospital?"

Sawyer and Kate shared a look before she said, "It just didn't work out that way… hit us kind of fast."

"You can say that again." Sawyer snorted. He looked at the baby who was nestling against Kate's boobs and making a sucking noise.

"I'll escort you to the nearest hospital, in fact I'll call in some back-"

"That's alright officer. Wouldn't want to make all that fuss…besides the siren's will upset the baby." Coming from Sawyer it would've sounded like a smart ass remark, but coming from Kate it now held maternal weight, "We'll get there ourselves now that the hard part's over."

"You sure m'am?" The officer eyed her suspiciously as she looked down at the baby and realized what it wanted.

"Yeah, pretty sure….now if you don't mind I think she's hungry."

The officer paused as though he expected her to whip out a baby bottle and stood stupidly until Sawyer hissed, "It's feedin' time, not a peep show."

"Oh…right. Safe trip." The officer retreated back to his squad car as though wondering just how he was going to report this one back to base.

The couple watched with a collectively bated breath as the policeman's taillights faded into the distance. When he was finally gone they sighed with more relief than they'd ever felt.

For the first time, the chaos died down and they could finally appreciate that they had a child. They could finally take a good hard look at their daughter.

"Hi." Kate cooed as she used one flannel sleeve to wipe the baby's little red face clean, "Hi there, Sam."

Sawyer reached out a trembling hand to smooth back the shock of blonde peach fuzz. Sam gurgled happily and tried to suckle his thumb.

"I think she really is hungry." Kate looked to Sawyer, biting her lower lip as though shy at what she would have to do.

Sawyer quirked an eyebrow and let his gaze drop unabashedly to Kate's breasts. One of the few perks of Kate's pregnancy was that her chest had more or less tripled in size. Being a breast man the last thing Sawyer was going to do was complain about breast-feeding. In fact he fully planned to go out of his way in convincing Kate that Johnson and Johnson's baby formula was paramount to the anti-Christ.

Blushing as she exposed a breast Kate held the baby to it and gasped as Sam latched on. They sat there for one moment, one perfect moment, both awe-struck and trying to comprehend that this had actually happened. That they actually had a child, that they had made, and it was living and breathing and in their arms, that it relied on them for survival and it was up to them to raise it. No not it. _Her._

After a while Sawyer's gaze shifted to Kate. He fully appreciated the power of a woman at that moment. While he was appreciating said power (and other attributes) he realized that she was still sitting in basically the same position she had when she gave birth, and she was still basically laying in a puddle of blood and juices. She also looked positively exhausted, her eyes were moving to close even as she nursed Sam.

He suddenly turned the truck on and shifted into gear, "I think its time we found a shady spot to nestle down in for the night."

Kate nodded and after a great yawn said, "Just don't go in the same direction as the cop."

"This isn't my first time evading the police, Sweetcheeks." He grinned as he merged with the meager late night traffic.

"I know it's not…but it's hers." Kate ran one finger across her daughter's pudgy red cheek.

A look came over Sawyer and a big smile lit his face.

"Well, well…I hadn't thought of it like that." He watched as Sam ceased nursing and yawned just like her mother, "Welcome to the Swiss Family Ford, Smallfry."

Kate rolled her eyes…some introduction.

**TBC**

_**Author's Note: **Every chapter I start with a much longer plan then I wind up writing…for example the actual birth was supposed to be very short, just a feature of the chapter. But I got so into it that now it IS the chapter. How do we all like Sam?_

_In other words this is only half of the original chapter…which means it will be **2 chapters** until we get significant Jana or PBnJ again._

_**Things to meditate on:** Exactly how do you raise a small child when your running from the FBI? More precisely, how do Sawyer and Kate raise a small child when their on the run from the FBI._

_THANKS TO BUTTERFLY FOR CONTINUALLY REMINDING ME THAT I NEEDED TO UPDATE… SHE IS THE REASON THAT THIS CHAPTER WAS BROUGHT OUT NOW AS OPPOSED TO LATER!_

_Please **review!**_


	5. Growing Up

Chapter 4- Growing Up

"So as you can imagine the money would triple in, maybe a month? Definitely by-"

"Sawyer!"

Sawyer's ears twitched at the sound of Kate's voice. There wasn't panic (thank God) but there was excitement.

It had been 8 months since they'd pulled into a Motel Six with a drowsy newborn that had to be washed with stolen towels in a rusty sink. Eight months since they'd made her first crib out of a bunch of hangers and a dresser drawer. Sam was a chubby happy baby. But between her and her mother, the money wasn't lasting. After **a lot** of intense debate about how they were going to solve that problem, they decided cons were significantly safer then armed robbery and less risky then attempting honest work where they could be IDed.

Although it had taken Sawyer three weeks before he'd found a con easy enough, _safe_ enough to get the stamp of approval from the new and improved Maternal Kate. Hell this guy was about as difficult to tackle as a sedated sloth, even the baby could see that.

Which was why he wanted to know what was giving Kate cause to interrupt the grift. He excused himself from the room and vanished across the hall where Kate was playing with Sam.

"What are you-" He never finished. Upon entering the room he saw his sandy hairred toddler taking wobbly steps on her legs. Though she had been going towards her mother, when she saw Sawyer she smiled widely and stretched out her arms to him, changing her course. Sam managed to take a good five steps before falling on the carpeted floor.

Letting loose a great laugh Sawyer swooped down and gathered Sam in his arms.

"Well, well, well! Just couldn't wait to run to daddy, could you?" He bounced the baby, much to her enjoyment.

Kate got up from the floor and crossed to them, kissing the baby's chubby fist, "She knows who spoils her. Such a daddy's girl."

Sawyer leaned in to kiss Kate but was interrupted by a roughly cleared throat.

"Sawyer, are we going to talk business or are you going to change diapers? Give the kid to the woman and let her do her job, and you come be the man!"

"Son of a bitch." Sawyer muttered under his breath.

Kate gave him a look that clearly said _Don't curse in front of the baby_.

He handed little Sam over to Kate and returned to his target. All of sudden stealing money from the bastard wasn't setting a bad example for the baby…after all the son of a bitch interrupted her first steps.

"I cannot believe she said that!" Kate raged.

"Kids say the damndest things, Freckles…"

"_Darndest_. Kids say the _darndest_ things." She glared at him.

"Sweetcheeks if you want to censor every curse word that comes outta my mouth you're going to have to stuff something in it."

"How about a sock?"

"I was thinking your tongue…but if you're feelin' kinky…"

Kate turned and suddenly they were inches apart, and her eyes said she was feeling anything but kinky, "How can you laugh at a time like this?"

"Easy, it's funny!"

Sam's crying broke up their argument for a moment, crossing to where she lay on a nest of pillows Sawyer picked her up and began rubbing her back, shushing her. In a few minutes she calmed down and proceeded to pull at his hair.

"Ow!" She tugged harder, "Ow! Stop that!"

Sam looked him right in the eye. He would swear to the grave that she was mocking him when she tugged even harder.

"Ow! Son of a –"

"Bit'h!" Sam squealed clapping loudly, a big grin on her face.

Kate growled from across the room, she then appeared out of thin air and took Sam out of Sawyer's arms.

"I can't believe Sam's first word was a curse word." Kate was bouncing the baby on her hip, still fuming, "This is all your fault! She hangs on you all day and you can't watch your language for a single minute!"

"Bit'h! Bit'h!" Sam clapped and giggled as she repeated the word.

Sawyer shrugged with a proud grin, "What can I say? Little missy's got a mouth on her."

He was obviously amused and it only served to infuriate Kate.

"Well if you think that your getting a mouth on you, you are quite mistaken."

His laughter died.

"Now, Kate…."

The bell rang overhead, that sickening tinkle of commercialism with sprinkles. With a grimace at the pink bunnies painted on the walls and the happy frogs sharing ice cream with them Sawyer pushed his sunglasses into his hair.

"I drove an hour for this? Jesus Christ." It was almost as if the cuteness of the place made him physically ill.

The teenager at the counter seemed unimpressed by him when he went to the counter and asked about birthday cake. Behind him the bell tolled again and the boy straightened up, became alert and even put on a smile.

"Can I help you, Miss?"

Kate curled up on Sawyer's arm and the boy looked crestfallen. Until she leaned forward on the counter, showing a little cleavage.

"Hi…" She let her sunglasses slip down her nose and smiled flirtatiously at the boy, "My niece is having a birthday and her idiot" she swung her head at Sawyer "father forgot that ice cream cakes melt. Consequently we need another one…"

"Sure." The kid got really excited about helping her and said, "The small ones are $5, the medium ones are $8 and the –"

"But we already paid for it!" Kate pouted, "We just drove to the store when the genius back there realized that it was completely demolished. The reservation was under Johnson and we picked it up 2 hours ago…."

She reached forward and straightened his name tag, "Bobby….would you really make me pay for a cake twice just because my brother doesn't have the mental competency of an ant?"

The boy gave her his "charming" smile and said, "No, no of course I wouldn't!"

Ten minutes later they walked out of the shop with a box of a freshly made ice cream cake made out to Sam with pink flowers all over it. They walked over to their truck and turned to the backseat where Sam, strapped in a car seat, was napping. She awoke when the car door slammed and looked hopefully at her parents.

"Did you get me something?" With the single mindedness of a five year old she locked her blue eyes on the box.

"Yeah, we got you a birthday cake." Kate smiled back at her baby.

"Yeah, momma had to pull an Erin Brockovich to get it but we got it." Sawyer retorted but he couldn't pretend to be mad today. Today Sam turned five and it was going to be a fun day.

"Cake!" The child screamed excitedly.

They went to a park and enjoyed their stolen birthday cake. When Kate was throwing out the paper plates and wiping Sam's sticky face, Sam poked Sawyer. Repeatedly. Many times.

"Small Fry you think I've got a squeak-box in me?"

"Do I get presents Daddy?"

Sawyer and Kate exchanged a glance. Kate nibbled on her lower lip. They really didn't have the funds for toys (or the room in the truck). Never one to be beaten Sawyer shook his head.

"Next stop, Toys R Us….better get the goods ready, Erin." Kate snorted at Sawyer even as she pulled down her shirt and adjusted her bra.

"Are we there yet?"

"Sam-" Kate was cut off by an angry Sawyer.

"Do NOT make me pull over this car to tell you we ain't there yet! So help me, Sam!"

Five hours of driving was hell on an eight year old. Especially when mommy and daddy kept fighting "in code" for the duration of the trip.

"I think she'd be fine on the horse…it doesn't kick or nothing." Sawyer tried to come back into his argument with Kate.

"It's not the horse I'm worried about and you damn well know it." She was sick of this fight. Five hours of it didn't put her in a mood to further it, either.

"You're being stupid if you think she won't listen."

Kate stared at Sawyer for a minute. Five hours of dancing around that phrase and he finally just came out and said it.

"I'm being stupid to think an eight year old girl might let something slip and suddenly lots of trouble starts for us?"

"I wouldn't slip, Mommy!" Sam tried to help but she had no idea what she was talking about, and both her parents knew that.

"Don't try to help, String Bean." Sawyer warned.

Sam growled and pouted angrily at the window.

Softly Sawyer whispered, "She'll eventually find out how we live…and one day she'll have to take part. It's better we start her now, so she gets used to it….it's teach her or leave her, Kate. You know that."

"We're not _giving her up_." Kate hissed and then sighed, "It's just… why does everything have to be a crime, Sawyer?"

He wrapped an arm around her and drew her close, kissing her head. In the backseat Sam exclaimed, "Just cause your done fighting doesn't mean you can be gross!"

They had to laugh.

"Dad! I found this great house…big as a museum! Codes easy! No dogs…"

"Short Stack, you got a fettish with breaking and entering?" Sawyer groaned as his twelve year old daughter burst into their motel room at 7 am. Like her mother, she was an early riser.

"Yeah maybe I have a thing for eating food that isn't take out at the same time that I take money to buy gas to avoid the FBI to stay with my folks…that's a shitload of birds with one stone."

"Language!" Kate called from the bathroom.

"Kate, it is too damn early for censorship." Sawyer eyed his daughter, "And too damn early for felonies."

Kate and Sam rolled their eyes in exactly the same fashion and burst into their own tirades.

"You're always saying how I should contribute something to-"

"-wonder why she's so rambunctious! If we don't at least TRY to set an example for her –"

"- and its not like YOU haven't done anything WAY worse-"

"-Boggles my mind how you can be so flippant about-"

Sawyer put a pillow over his head, attempting to drown them out, but then they simultaneously burst out with, "Are you even listening to me!"

"All right! Jesus Christ I surrender!" He rolled out of bed and shuffled towards the shower muttering obscenities under his breath.

Kate, having defeated Sawyer, turned on her daughter.

"And what is this about a house? We're not breaking into a house."

"But _moooooom_!"

"No 'buts'!" Kate began to make the bed. It was a habit she'd gotten into that Sam had never known her not to do. She said once it made her feel like she had some small roots, that there was still a bed that she could make.

"Can you really tell me we can't use the money?"

"That's not your problem…"

"Yeah, sure its not. I'll just eat some old shirts, I hear cotton's a great source of fiber."

"Don't you start with me!" Kate shook a sock at Sam as though it were a threatening object that could coerce her to obey.

Sam grabbed another sock and mimicked her mother, "Don't treat me like I'm still a baby!"

"I won't! I'll treat you like your _twelve_. You're not eighteen. You're not twenty one. You're not thirty or forty. You're not grown up, Sam! You're not even a _teenager_. And I will treat you _exactly_ like that!" Kate threw some clothes in one of their suitcases, "You're not just going to start committing crimes like its Little League! So just slow down!"

Sam was close to tears when she screamed, "You don't understand! You'll NEVER UNDERSTAND!"

Sawyer emerged from the shower into the war zone and immediately blew a sharp whistle between his thumb and pinky, and shouted, "CEASE and FUCKING DISSIST!"

When the girls quieted and looked at him he said, "Can someone explain why I just walked into the goddamn Baghdag of bitch fights?"

Kate looked at him, "_Your_ daughter wants to break into a house."

"Yeah…you didn't get that memo earlier?" He patted his head with a towel, "And why is she only mine when she's doing something bad?" He shook his head, "Never mind that…I think that we should do this. We need the money and she needs to experience."

"Why should she get experience in breaking and entering?"

"Uh…sweetheart…not sure if you realized that with two _wanted felons_ raising her…she's bound to be party to some crimes. If you don't remember, she already has been, she's been fine…" Kate drew a breath as though to argue, "And don't dare try to pull that 'Do as I say, not as I do' bulls-" Kate gave him a different look so he adjusted the word before it was out, "-pucky. Let's just case the joint, if she's right its easy money, if she's wrong we walk."

Kate rubbed her eyes and gave up, "_Fine_. But we walk if it goes bad."

Twenty minutes later they were in a house the size of a castle. It was loaded with goods….too bad they couldn't move goods. They needed cash. And plenty was just lying around. Sawyer and Kate got down to business, the money and anything that wouldn't leave too much of a paper trail. Sam meanwhile was exploring. She was flipping through magazines, admiring the cabinets and going through the fridge. At one point she went into the bathroom.

"Uh….mom!...Mom!" She called out. Kate came to the door and talked through it, "What is it, Sam?"

"Could you please come in here?"

They had been tense since Sawyer had blatantly sided with Sam in regards to the house. Kate was not pleased with the entire situation. When she walked in she saw her twelve year old sitting on the toilet with bloodied underwear around her ankles.

"Oh, _baby_," Kate cooed, "You got your period."

Sam was quiet for once in her life and merely nodded, she was blushing a brilliant color and seemed to grow quiet small in her confusion and embarrassment. Kate smiled for a minute…her little girl was growing up. Now the period, later the bras, then the maturing…it seemed like just yesterday she was eating for two, now she was going to be buying Tampax for two.

"Uh…mom?"

Kate snapped out of her reverie and into action, "Uh right…well. Your period is normal. Every girl gets it. Comes once a month and-"

"Mom…I can read a book for information…can you help me, please?"

"Oh…" Kate headed out the door calling out, "Wait there!"

"Where the hell would I go?" Sam asked herself in a small voice, feeling exposed in the big white bathroom.

Soon her mother returned with a handful of maxi pads and some underwear, "Here, put these on-"

"Those are someone else's underwear!" Sam looked thoroughly horrified.

"Yeah, I know but it's what we have…and besides this goes between you and strange people panties." Kate held up a pad and dove into explanations. They stole a pair of sweatpants for Sam before leaving, throwing her soiled clothes away.

In the car, when Sam had fallen asleep, Sawyer asked what had happened at the house.

"She got her period." Kate said simply.

"Son of a bitch." Sawyer groaned, "You mean to tell me I gotta put up with _two_ women PMSing?"

Kate gave him an almost evil smile, "Well, it should at least improve your ability to find drug stores and bathrooms…and just think, we won't have it at the same time. When one ends, the other starts up."

He suddenly remembered something his father had taught him: Never trust women, there's something creepy about things that bleed for five days and don't die.

**TBC**

**Author's Notes:**

**So….it seems that my initial outline is one chapter off from what's actually occurring. This chapter was supposed to happen last chapter. And next chapter was supposed to happen this chapter.**

**But frankly I came home from watching Underworld Evolution and didn't feel like delving into that whole second part of this…and it ends well here.**

**Things to consider:**

**Just when ARE Jana and PB&J coming back? (next chapter!)**

**Thanks again to Butterfly! The constant presence hounding me for an update.**


	6. Family Values

Chapter 5- Family Values

"Aaron! Turn that RUDDY MUSIC OFF AND HELP ME!" Claire screamed to the ceiling, hoping she would drown out the subwoofer that was making her whole kitchen shake.

Aaron mumbled something incoherent and soon footsteps were heard clomping down the stairs. When he entered the kitchen he had to duck to avoid getting hit with green-goop that was apparently mashed spinach (although he was tempted to send it in for tests as he was pretty sure Spinach didn't move…).

"Funny, Adah." He popped his headphones onto his shoulders and rolled up his sleeves. His youngest sibling was Adah who was just over one…and the fussiest eater the world had ever seen. Few people came away from an encounter with The Beast without having stains on their shirts compliments of Gerber's. She was particularly adept at chucking vegetables when your back was turned.

But for whatever reason she adored her oldest brother and could often be tricked into eating when he played with her.

His mother came into the kitchen from the laundry room and found him playing "Choo-Choo" with a spoon of green goop ("Airplane" was strictly forbidden).

"Thanks, sweetheart." She kissed Aaron's forehead, "I would delve back into the trenches but Ewan thought it would be cute to put Seth's frog in the toilet and now I have two fighting boys, a confused frog and one very blocked toilet."

Ewan was seven and the consummate trouble-maker of the family. He seemed to particularly like antagonizing his eleven year old brother Seth. The only person Ewan didn't prank was Aaron, who had achieved 'cool' status by nature of being nineteen. Or maybe it was that he was a singer? Or maybe it was the tattoos? Well whatever it was, Ewan thought Aaron was the coolest thing that wasn't frozen and kept a respectful distance between Aaron and all the pranks.

But that left poor Seth an open target. Seth looked like their father in all the wrong ways, but was scrawny like his mother. In many ways Seth rather resembled a frazzled mouse, but he was a sweet kid and smarter then the rest of them combined. Ewan was scruffy, if a kid could be scruffy. He had unruly brown hair and mischievous brown eyes with chubby cheeks and a devious grin. The two were _constantly_ at odds. Claire maintained that Ewan was suffering from middle child syndrome and taking his desire for attention out on his brother. Charlie gave her a funny look and asked when 'he's a bully' became 'he's suffering from middle child syndrome'. Consequently Charlie slept on the couch.

Adah took advantage of Aaron's distraction to hit the spoon out of his hand. She wasn't going to eat unless the Choo-Choo was moving and Aaron's Choo-Choo had frozen mid-air when he thought about his brother.

"Sorry, I forgot Miss Adah's train doesn't make stops." He cleaned off the spoon and tried again. This time he managed to get the food in her mouth. It took him ten minutes, but eventually all the food was somewhat in her mouth…somewhat all over her mouth as well.

Without waiting for him mom to ask him Aaron got a cloth and wiped down his sister's face. She was really cute without mashed greens all over her. She had huge blue eyes and curly blonde hair and the biggest smile anyone ever saw. She smiled so much because it fooled people into thinking she wouldn't chuck a bowl at their head, or at least that's what Aaron believed. Adah looked the most like him of all his siblings, and he had a special connection with her. They understood each other. She didn't throw food in his face, he let her destroy as many Barbie's as she pleased. It was a good deal.

"M_ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo_m!"

"Keely's home." Aaron rolled his eyes to Adah, much to her amusement. Keely was five and completed the Zoo that was the Pace household. Keely was the very image of their mother, but she was the biggest diva the world had ever seen (a trait Claire assured them was inherited from Charlie).

"Cl_aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa_ire!"

"Dad's home." Aaron smiled, sometimes Keely and Charlie were a little _too_ similar.

Charlie entered the kitchen with a guitar strung over his shoulders. He kissed the baby and patted Aaron's head, "Where's your mum?"

"Breaking up the latest fight and probably wrestling with the toilet."

"Toilet? Hold on is she…" Charlie's first thought when Claire was anywhere near a toilet was 'Did we use a condom?', because Claire was known to get violently ill whenever she had a Pace baby. Aaron had apparently been easy on her stomach, but any seed of Charlie's managed to bond her to the porcelain throne like a stomach flu that never left.

"No it's not morning sickness. It's worse."

Charlie paled, the only thing worse then morning sickness was PMS, "Worse?"

"Much worse." Aaron leaned closer and solemnly said, "Kermit took the plunge down into the pipes today."

"Oh…how's Seth taking it?" Charlie bowed his head and tried to calculate the proper mourning time for an amphibian.

"Not well considering the frog was still alive..."

"What? How the….Ewan?" Charlie moved the guitar to a nearby hanger and rolled up the sleeves on his button up, "Wish me luck, I'm going in."

He bravely marched up the stairs just as Claire shouted, "Ewan, TOILET SCRUBBERS ARE NOT PLAY TOYS!"

Aaron looked at Adah who was giggling profusely, as though she understood it all.

_Home sweet home_.

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You'd think that Jack would learn Spanish after seventeen years of marriage. After all that time he could probably only curse in that language. His wife would curse at him, his kids would probably curse at him. But hey, he could always pretend they were saying nice things in that angry tone.

When Ana Lucia paused to breathe in the middle of a rant he put up his hands, "Time out, pause!...Now. Can you tell me what happened?"

Deep breath.

"I come home and _your daughter_ has this letter from the principal. It seems she had a fight today. She broke some girl's nose. I ask her what happened and she said 'She deserved it' and locked her door. She won't open it. So now, if you'll move, I'm going to go to the garage, get the hammer, and bash the door down."

They really couldn't have reproduced themselves so exactly in their children if they had cloned then.

Jack put his hands on Ana's shoulders, "Honey just calm down, I'm sure we can reason with Marita to open the door."

At that moment the front door slammed, followed by a loud thud as a backpack hit the floor.

"DAMMIT!" The voice came.

"Chris!" Jack called, his grip on his wife not relaxing as she was still looking at the garage door temptingly, "Can you come here, please?"

A skulking seventeen year old came into the kitchen. He looked like a Hispanic version of his father, he had recently started growing into his frame and as a result was looking less like a string bean and more like a man.

"Chris, did you hear about Marita getting into a fight in school today?"

"With Whitney? Yeah. Broke her nose." The boy leaned against the doorframe morosely.

"So we've heard." Jack moved so that his whole body was blocking the garage door from Ana, "Do you know what it's about?"

"Something like Marita was going to get asked to junior prom but Whitney stole her date, then Marita was going to get asked to senior prom but Whitney said she was a dyke or that she was a slut or…I dunno, bathroom wall poetry no doubt." Christian started picking at his nails.

"Is that the _whole_ truth? Marita didn't do anything to this Whitney girl to antagonize her?" Jack kept one arm around his wife in case she made any sudden moves.

"I think she might have shown pictures of Whitney hooking up with this Trombone player at a party and her jock boyfriend got mad and broke up with her or something stupid… I really don't listen to Sophomore gossip." Although he was forced to say that as a Senior (after all what's worse then an upperclassmen digging through the underclassmen grapevine?) Jack knew his son too well. Christian was protective of his sister, he watched out for her and kept an ear out for anything that was being circulated about her (and always attempted damage control when she did something stupid) but Marita made it hard to protect her. She was just as self sufficient as her mother, if not more so. She had absolutely no desire to be baby-sat by Christian as though she was still a child.

"See? Marita was provoked…kind of." Jack rubbed Ana's arms, "Maybe she'll let you talk to her about it now that you're not demanding details?"

"I'll try…but she's got three strikes before I'm coming for that hammer and she's already used two." Ana trudged upstairs to do battle.

Jack sighed as he looked at his son. Something was obviously on his mind and he only had twenty minutes before his shift started. He took a seat at the kitchen table.

"Why don't you sit down and tell me what's up?" Jack pushed back a chair so Christian could sit.

The boy reluctantly sat down.

"Hard day?" Jack prompted.

"You remember the kid that was on the edge of being expelled? Tommy?" Jack nodded, he remembered the boy vaguely, "Well, they assigned me to tutor him. Spanish mostly, but some biology too. He had the potential, dad. He wasn't smart, he just didn't apply himself. And he had it, it was all there. I helped him study for this big test that could've brought him grade from a D to a B…and he hits this kid in the locker room. Third suspension therefore they expelled him. He was _so close_." Christian let his head fall into his hands frustrated at his failure.

Truly, he couldn't be more like his dad…and yet he was his own person. Which amused Jack. He did have specks of Ana Lucia thrown into him and they could pop out. Though for right now it seemed mostly Jack.

"You did what you could do, Chris…and if other people fail it's not your fault. You put your 100 percent in, and he couldn't give you back half. That's his problem, not yours."

Christian raised his head and looked at his father, "But he was _right there…_ he could've done it, Dad! I had him all ready!"

How many times had he and his father had this conversation? How many times had he actually listened to the advice? Jack sighed. Maybe his son was a little _too_ much like him.

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"Goddamn, String Bean!"

"I'm sorry!" A voice squeaked, "I thought you were looking!"

Kate perked up her ears as Sawyer came into the bedroom with an aura of pissed off. His black shirt had yellow mush on it. She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Banana." He muttered darkly, "Your little angle just hit me with a mushy banana."

Barely restraining a laugh Kate tried to sound solemn, "Maybe she couldn't find a rock."

They shared a moment before Sam came in. She was all grown up, nearly eighteen. She was tall, taller then her mother, with the same curly mop of hair and Freckles, but her eyes, her build, her snippy comments were one hundred percent pure Sawyer.

"Dad, you can't just say toss me a banana and then look away."

"She's got a point, Sawyer." Kate dove into mom hear and started dabbling the spot on Sawyer's shirt with a damp paper towel.

"Thank you Banana Rama for your insight into the conduct code associated with the phrase 'Toss me a banana'." He grabbed the towel from her, "I'll get it out."

Kate meandered over to Sam and nudged her whispering, "You got him pretty good."

"So did you last night… you two were aware that the walls in the place are _paper thin?_"

Kate tried to withhold her blush but failed.

"We woke you up, huh?" Kate's face scrunched up with embarrassment.

"Don't worry, give me time and I'll repress it with the rest of my childhood." Sam cracked a smile.

Within the hour they were gone from the hotel room they had been in and were on the road. Years ago they'd been forced to give up their old truck and ever since were making do with a half-broken down Chevy Cavalier that to this day smelled like burning rubber without a reason. They were halfway across Delaware when Sam kicked the back of the driver's seat.

"Is it my turn? You said I could drive an hour ago but you didn't pull over." Sawyer didn't respond, he kept his eyes glued in front of him as though she hadn't said a word.

That's when she kicked the seat so hard that he nearly cracked his head on the steering wheel.

"OUCH! Son of a BITCH!" He put one hand over his forehead and continued to watch the road, recovering from the swerve he'd made without hitting anyone, "Stop it, Sam, or so help me…."

"What? You'll glare at me? You said I could drive!" Sam sulked and Kate looked over at Sawyer.

"Sawyer, you realize that she's not going to stop until you pull over, right?"

"I know that!" He snapped and rubbed his head, "Ouch, goddamnit Samantha I think you crack my goddamn skull!"

"Then you're in no fit state to drive, pull over and hand me the wheel."

Reluctantly Sawyer pulled into the next rest stop and headed to the bathroom.

"Might as well pee now so I don't wet myself when you drive in the wrong lane…"

"That was ONE time!" Growled Sam as she took a battered CD player and an adaptor that allowed her to play it off the tape deck.

Kate unbuckled her seatbelt and slithered into the back. She always let Sawyer take the airbag, as he seemed a bit less comfortable with Sam's driving then she did. Mostly because Sam's driving reminded her of how she was at that age. Things like signs and directions had confused Kate so much that she'd bashed in her first two cars. For whatever reason her motorcycle was the only thing she could maneuver a road with.

She would've let Sam get one but… well it didn't make sense being on the run and all.

With Sawyer firmly strapped into the front seat Sam slammed the car up to 40 in a heartbeat. She didn't signal when she merged lanes, she was constantly racing other drivers…and she believed cutting someone off if they annoyed you was a God-given American right. The only thing she was good at was spotting traffic police, she could sense them from two exits away and immediately put her best foot forward. It just wasn't in their best interests to get pulled over…they'd learned that the hard way.

"Sam what's this crap on the radio?"

"It's not crap and it's not on the radio…it's my CD." She swerved into another lane and Sawyer clenched the armrest as though that would help.

"Why do I have to listen to your music?"

"Because I have to listen to your crap when my batteries die."

He glared out the window, "Which is hopefully very soon."

Sam sung along with the music, "_And wherever you go I hope you know, That the hatred inside me grows DEEPER then the love I feel whenever you come back and start to USE ME, ABUSE ME, it's more then I can bare after you CHOOSE ME, then LOSE ME like you just don't care and it's just more then I can take…you're a hard habit to break!..."_

Kate cocked her head, there was something odd about the song…more specifically the singer. She felt like she heard it before.

"Sam….SAM!" She screamed over the blare of the guitar rift.

"Hmm?" Sam turned her whole body when she turned her head and Sawyer reached over to steady the wheel before she careened them into the pissed off Ford Explorer pulling up beside them.

"This isn't Drive Shaft, is it?"

"God NO!" Sam shivered as though the name sickened her, "It's OffTune."

"Damn straight it's off tune!" Sawyer tried to lower the volume but he was too focused on making sure Kate was properly buckled in.

"Oh, it sounds like Charlie a bit."

"Charlie?" Sam made a ninety degree turn onto an exit ramp and nearly took out a Volkswagen Beetle that wasn't doing anyone any harm. Poor innocent by-stander. Kate's reply was lost in her shriek of surprise that a Chevy Cavalier can drive as well on two wheels as four.

Something from the back window flew forward and hit Sawyer's head when Sam slammed on the breaks for a red light. It was the CD case for OffTune. He glanced at it, turned it over, and read off some songs.

"What is this crap? 'Your Eyes, The Ocean', 'Mile High Club', 'Fire Dancer', 'Powder and Love'….who sings this shit?" He read the singers name, "Aaron Pace?"

"Also known as Sex God." Sam quipped.

"Pace?" Kate grabbed the CD case and perused it, "Oh my God!"

"Yes, Sweet Cheeks?" Sawyer gave her a cheeky grin.

She swatted his head and said, "Sawyer this is Aaron! Claire's Aaron!"

"The island baby?"

"Woah! Time out!" Sam swerved the car to the side of the road and put it in park, "You know Aaron Pace?"

"Honey, I gave birth to him."

Sam's jaw dropped, "Dude….you just won SO many cool points."

"Yeah well I'm cashing mine in for the right to drive…you take shot gun for a while Short Stack."

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Aaron came out of the studio sweaty and tired, and was immediately tackled by his mother.

"Oh honey you sounded so good! The new CD's really coming along isn't it?" Adah motioned to be handed over to Aaron and he took her happily, letting her ride on his shoulders.

"Yeah I suppose…I want something softer though…Like 'Your Eyes, The Ocean' was. It was the only soft song on the last album and I really liked it…you know? It's easy to write blood, hate, heartbreak and drugs…but you try and put feeling down and your getting something else."

"What's wrong with blood, hate, heartbreak and drugs? Besides the drugs, that is." Charlie popped in, "Your last record did great! You have a knack for rock music, you really do!"

The rest of the band filtered out, paying homage to Charlie and patting the kids on the head.

"Mum I want to sing! Can I start singing? I'm going to be a star." Keely reached her arms up to her father to pick her up, he whisked her up as Claire said, "We'll see when you're older, sweetheart."

"Oh m_oooooooooooooooooooo_m!" She pouted and Charlie whispered, "We'll get you a microphone for your next birthday! And it'll be sparkly and pink and then you get a stage…"

Claire rolled her eyes and barely restrained Ewan as he attempted to draw a mustache on the autographed picture of Billy Idol hanging on the wall.

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"I don't need your help, Chris! Just leave me alone!"

"Marita, you're failing biology and I passed it with an average of 102…just let me help you! Give you some pointers!"

"You can shove your self-righteous bull up your ass, big brother, cause I don't need you to rescue me, ok?"

She slammed the door.

"MOM YOU REALLY HAVE TO CONSIDER CUTTING THE HINGES ON HER DOOR!" Christian yelled down the hall.

"TELL IT TO YOUR FATHER, I'VE TRIED!" She yelled back, she was busy preparing a nutritious meal for her kids… Lean Cuisine's.

Par normal she was just off a shift, and Jack was due home in twenty minutes barring disaster (which always seemed to show up). Just then the door opened.

"I'm home!" Jack called. Ana left her post of sentinel at the microwave to greet him.

"We're taking the door off of Marita's room later."

In the Shepard Household they didn't do "Hey honey, how was your day?" because if Ana wasn't getting shot at, Jack was holding people's lives in his hands, and 'how was your day' just didn't cut it. Instead they cut right to the chase. It wasn't a delicate way of doing things, but it was their way and it worked well.

"Are we sure we want to do that and then have to risk watching what her and her boyfriend do? Cause I can ignore it behind closed doors but when its right in front of me…" His humor missed its mark and he sighed, "What'd she do now?"

"She's failing biology. Chris offered to help her and she goes off screaming at him. I think she needs anger management."

"Really?" he kissed Ana's head, "Cause she reminds me of someone else that everyone thought needed anger management…but really she just needed the right person to talk to."

Ana melted for a moment, the ice queen gave way to a wife happy to see her husband. They ignored the smell of disinfectant and gunpowder and gave each other a warm kiss, letting the drama subside for a single second before it came back.

However it may seem, this family functioned well on their dysfunctionality.

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"Mom I'm not a size 4, can you please hand me the 8?" Sam shoved the dress over the divider to Kate's cubical.

"But weren't you just a four?"

"When I _was_ four."

Sam was touchy about her size. She was a tall girl and built big, but she was a far stretch from fat. People would say she "looked like her dad" and she took it to mean that she was a cow compared to her mother. It's hard to be the daughter of a woman more then two sizes smaller then you, because it just doesn't dawn on them that you can't fit into that size.

Which made clothes shopping a lesson in bitching.

"God…damn….zipper!" Sam gave up and tossed the dress to a heap on the floor, "What do I have a dress anyway? We going to be modeling for the Feds next go around?"

"Funny, Sam." Kate slipped on a shirt over her dress, which fit her as if it was tailor made, "I thought you'd like a sundress…its getting warmer, your getting older…maybe you'd like something a little more….girly or whatever."

Sam pulled on a pair of jeans with relish, "You can say that I dress butch and it wouldn't sound so insulting."

"Oh really, I'm not saying your fat."

"No, you're saying I'm large and frumpy. Can you say 'Ouch'?" She pulled on a shirt and then another one. Pausing to check how she looked she pulled on a skirt over the jeans.

"I NEVER said you were-"

"Do you have that Trucker hat?" Kate tossed it over the divider without finishing her previous statement.

Five minutes later they emerged; put on the coats they came with and walked out.

With over $300 in clothing walking out with them.

Shoplifting: the lesson every mother should have to teach her child.

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"It's the BEAT OF MY HEART! It tears me apart-"

"Shut up Keely!" Seth cried and slammed the door.

Keely began crying, "DADDY!"

Charlie spent twenty minutes teaching Keely new microphone tricks to calm her down. Aaron watched with amusement. The last time Charlie had been so excited was when Aaron had gotten lost in an electronics store and been found when he picked up a microphone from a karaoke set and started singing "You All Everybody". Charlie loved music, it was in the marrow of his bones. Thus his two favorite children were the two that showed the same love: Aaron and Keely. It's not that he didn't love the others, its just there was a big hole in what they could experience together.

To his credit Charlie actually went to Science Fair's to bond with Seth, found joke shops for Ewan to buy out, and takes the stains from Adah with pride.

Claire had a mother's perspective of her brood. They all had their own gifts and some she appreciated, other's she didn't. For example, while Ewan was a mastermind pranker, she hated cleaning up the after mass and having to apologize to 9 out of 10 playmate's parents. But he was exceedingly clever about the pranks, one day maybe he'd make a great strategist or engineer or chemist. Though today she was still rescuing frogs from toilets.

From Claire's angle, every one of her children was special. It was that mother's connection, she had known them since they were the size of a bean jiggling inside of her. Each carried their own way, birthed their own way and now living in their own way. She would never forget that Seth was the calmest pregnancy of her Pace children, and the quietest delivery and the quietest baby. Or how Keely had always had something amiss that she was center stage. Or how she always cried for attention. Or how her first steps looked like a strut.

Although undoubtedly their family was not the epitome of normal, having grown up with a rock-star dad, paparazzi flashing cameras at their strollers, and all that jazz, they were all pretty level headed. As level headed as you can be when your husband and oldest child are bloody rock gods.

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"Tequila and Tonic." Jack handed Ana Lucia a glass with a smirk, "Forty-two F."

"I still think you cheated when you got the tattoo… now you don't have to remember it, you can just look at it for a prompt." She accepted the glass warmly and moved over so Jack could sit with her on the couch.

He pulled up his sleeve where an elaborate 42 F was woven into the 5 on his arm.

"I didn't need to get it there to remind me of the number, I got it to remind me of my priorities."

"Remind me?" She knew what he was going to say, but sometimes it just felt nice to hear it.

"That my greatest fear is losing you. I don't have to fix you, I love you as you are and I wouldn't have us any other way then exactly as we are." He slung his decorated arm over her shoulders and pulled her against him. They basked for a while in the blissful silence of 1 am when the kids were asleep and their beepers were turned off.

The Shepard family was…. Something else. One minute dad was making pancakes and an hour later he's taking a tumor the size of Texas out of a newborn's brain, all the while Mom's holding up bank-robbers at gun point and chasing down drug dealers. Wasn't exactly your typical Dick and Jane lifestyle, but they'd worked it out. They made sacrifices, they made do…and they made a life that they both loved. They had two kids that drove them nuts and made them proud.

And life was following the same erratic scale it had always followed for Jack and Ana.

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Sam slinked out of the car, pushing her boobs into a more prominent position in her tank top.

"Just where do you think your going?" Kate called after her, catching up in a few strides.

"To get us a room."

"No your not, I'm not having my daughter show her goodies for a room key." Kate shrugged off her jacket, "I'm getting us a room."

"Hypocrite!" Sam cried, rolling her eyes, "Mom your not allowed to tell me that I can't show some cleavage for a room key! Your stole my fifth birthday cake with use of your cleavage might I remind you!"

"Damn your father when he gets loose-lipped." Kate muttered before meeting Sam's eyes, "You're not going in there, I said no."

"I'm not letting you in there!" Sam stood in front of her.

Sawyer pushed himself between them, "Will you two just quit it already? You'd think you two hated each other."

"Close enough."

"Hush, Sam!" Sawyer snipped at her before turning to Kate, "Neither of my girls are showing anyone any remote type of goodies unless its you and me in a hot tub later, capiche? _I'll_ get the room key."

In he strode. Ten minutes later, Betty at the front desk was blushing and smiling after him until she saw Kate strut in, loop her arm around Sawyer's waist and mark her territory with a kiss. Betty learned an important lesson that day: Men are dogs. But lucky for Kate, she loved dogs.

Although Sam was exactly like her father. But female. Therefore Sam was a bitch, and she and Kate simply had not gotten along for the past couple of weeks. Within ten minutes of settling their room Sam stormed out of the room leaving Kate fuming.

Sawyer looked at her laden with trepidation, "Do you realize there's a vein in your forehead that looks like it's going to pop?"

"Yes, it's named Samantha." Kate ran a hand over her eyes.

Sawyer wrapped an arm around her, "Ah the joys of parenting. Warning side effects include tension headaches, sore throat, nausea, indigestion, raised blood pressure, violent outbursts, ulcers…should be exposed to when pregnant to prevent _further_ impregnation."

Kate smirked, "You know, some people _like_ having a bunch of kids, big families."

"Are they gluttons for punishment?"

Smiling Kate was finally calmed; Sawyer knew how to diffuse her by now. After a few minutes Kate turned to the door.

"I better go find her."

Sawyer cocked an eyebrow at her, "Honey did you even see the enraged, estrogen-seeped nightmare that flew out of here? Are you sure you want to go after her so soon? She might well be harboring homicidal tendencies and I've gotten used to having someone to sleep with, it'd be a bitch to have the bed to myself….although I could finally sprawl out again…" He seemed to ponder the last thought but Kate knew it was an act.

Sometimes Sam was a little _too_ much like them.

By the time Kate found her she was sitting in a tree a few blocks from the hotel, watching the goings on in a little ranch she was in back of. Shimmying up the tree they sat beside each other in complete silence. Below there seemed to be a very moody girl about Sam's age fighting with her parents.

It seemed to be an epidemic.

"It's her birthday." Sam said, motioning to Happy Birthday balloons in the dining room, "They bought her a new bike."

Kate didn't know what to say. Ten minutes ago she was the bane of Sam's existence but now they were conversing about bikes.

"That's nice…I always liked bikes."

"She doesn't. She wanted a car." Sam was jabbing at a piece of dead bark with her fist, "She was screaming at them, pushed the bike to the ground."

The girl proceeded to storm out of the house.

"And now it looks like she's taking a walk." Kate observed, trying to gauge Sam's motive.

"She's pissed because her nice stable family, in her nice stable home, gave her a bike and not a car." Sam punched the trunk making her mother flinch, "What she doesn't know is I would _kill_ for that bike. For one day of that life. Everything that she's so upset about I would gladly strangle her to have… and I hate her for that."

Kate wrapped her arm around Sam and kissed her head. She didn't know how to respond. She knew she hadn't exactly provided for a normal childhood or any kind of normal background for her daughter, but she wasn't willing to give her up. She loved Sam, and it might've made her a selfish, bad mother…but she felt the love balanced it out. At least a little.

She felt Sam stiffen in her arms for a moment.

She had the ability to wonder why before oblivion overtook her.

TBC

Author's Note: For those of you on The Lost Diaries: I love you, I do….but it is like needles in haystacks trying to convert my codes for you guys! And since I am sick and in no fit mood to convert the codes, this chapter is without any kind of italics, underline, bold or etc. If you'd like the version with it I am at Lost-Forum and and The Fuselage under the same name.

To everyone else: Hey look at that…that's a plotbunny burrowing in my head. Yay! It can keep the disembodied voices company…

Things to consider:

Just HOW are PB&J, Jana and Skate going to meet up? And how will the meetings go?

ALSO: If you think of any names for songs Aaron sings, feel free to suggest them. I am also putting out the ALL CALL for his CD cover (though I might take a stab at it myself). Also I'd love to see how you guys envision Sam, Christian, Aaron and the others…if you find or make pics please don't hesitate to post them.

I've been a good author, consistently updating every Friday….and no small part of that is Butterfly's ability to sense when I need to be kicked in the ass! Thank you to butterfly again!

Please Review!


	7. On the Island

_Chapter 6: On the Island_

Her heart was racing and she didn't know why. Even her muscles were tensed, ready for action. She pressed her eyes tightly shut, hoping it was some horrible dream. A reaction to the T.V.

Had she fallen out of the tree she and Sam had been sitting in as they watched the family? Couldn't be…Kate had never fallen out of a tree in her life.

Then she moved her palm…sand? Where the—

"KATE!" Sawyer's voice was hoarse and panicked, "SAM!"

Her eyes snapped open, wildly, as though she'd heard a gunshot. Before emotion could register, before the search for her lover and her child began…she saw the trees. The palm trees. They were swaying gently in the breeze, unaware that they caused a cold, fearful to break out all over Kate's body. She **had** to be dreaming, had to be hallucinating, had to be…

Taking a step forward she hissed in pain. Looking down she saw a small shard of seashell jammed into her foot. As she carefully extracted it and wrapped a tissue from her pocket around the wound, Sawyer's cry came again. This time his voice cracked.

"KATE! SAM!"

As though the raw feeling in his voice was a rush of cold water she burst into action, "I'm HERE! SAWYER!"

She heard the heavy rustle of jungle brush as Sawyer approached. The leaves birthed a wild man, his long hair partially matted with the blood from a long cut on his forehead. His eyes were feral with fear, a fire that only lessened a fraction when he saw her. The steps between them weren't even register; it seemed she was instantly in his arms.

"Are you alright? You okay?" He began searching her for injuries even as he swatted her hand from his head with a muttered, "It's nothing."

Assessing that she was intact he cupped her face, "Where's Sam?"

Kate suddenly felt the pure panic she had vowed never to feel again. Her child wasmissing. Maybe in mortal danger! The fear and rage mixed in her blood, running from head to toe and coming to a boil in her womb, where she felt the missing presence most heavily. Where the panic was strongest.

"Sam! SAM!" She began running and yelling despite physical pain and extreme confusion. It didn't matter where she was or what was happening: she needed to find her daughter.

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"HELP! Help me! Please! My baby!"

Sam squinted against the sharp pain that hit her when she tried to open her eyes.

"PLEASE HELP ME!"

This time she flung her eyes open without difficulty. Instantly she sat up, was alert, and began taking in everything around her, trying to hone in on that scream.

She must've banged her head something awful, because she couldn't really be here. This was…where was this? Tropical palm trees, coarse sand, deep blue water…

And a small blonde woman wading into the water after a car seat which held a crying toddler. But it didn't seem that the woman was moving very well, she was favoring one leg. Sam got up to rush towards her but fell, her balance completely thrown off. On the second try she managed to keep her legs but by the time she got into the surf someone sped past her, diving in the water head first, and paddling madly out to the child.

"Mom! MOM!" The cry came from behind, "DAD! MARITA!"

Sam turned to see the voice, it came from a tall, lanky boy about her age. He had a cut on one cheek and seemed dazed, as though waking from a dream. Some awakening. She walked over to him, kneeling down.

"Hey…" He didn't respond. He was still looking wildly around. She shook his shoulder, "Hey!"

This time he met her eyes and something about his expression changed. The fear lessened, the panic subsided. The wild light that had blinded him to her at first died out.

"Hey…" He responded and tried to get up but putting weight on his arm made him flinch.

Sam saw and moved so that she could drape the arm over her shoulder and let him rest against her for support, "Do you think you can stand?"

"Yeah…" Together they managed to get him on his feet. Realizing he no longer needed her help he hastily took his arm back from around her. They looked at each other for a moment, unsure as to what to do.

Without meaning to they began to walk, when the boy tripped and went down, Sam dove to help him. But from behind her someone screamed, "GET OFF OF HIM! DON'T YOU HURT HIM!"

There was a string of some language before Sam was tackled from behind. Without pausing for explanations Sam began throwing punches at the person's face. When hair came into her view she yanked it. When fingers clawed at her face she bit them. Her legs were constantly kicking, her nails constantly raking over flesh.

Once, years ago, her father had told her she fought like a hellcat. She knew no rules, no boundaries. When she fought she fought only to survive, to move on. If she had to bloody your nose or break your neck, she would do what it took. Nothing else mattered besides the outcome of the fight.

No wonder that she didn't hear the boy yelling for her to stop. Then another voice joined in, deeper and more commanding but she took no notice.

"Sam!" A familiar drawl rang out, "Goddammit Sam! Get off her!"

Whether her father spoke to her or the other person, she couldn't tell and didn't really care. Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around her middle and pulled her off. She was kicking and clawing at naked air for a moment before she stopped and the red left her eyes, letting reason back in.

A few feet away her attacker was being held back. The girl's face was marked with bloody claw prints, her nose dripped and her lower lip was split. Behind her stood a tall man with a buzz cut, he was holding her back though she struggled against his grip, tears and rage coloring the words she spoke, even though she was speaking a language Sam didn't know.

Above her Sam saw her father, his long hair askew and a patch of blood blooming fresh from a cut on his forehead. Behind him her mother stood at the ready, prepared to pounce or retreat.

But both her parents were frozen, their eyes locked with the man holding the struggling girl. Their expressions were very "What the hell!".

Suddenly her mother spoke, "Jack?"

"Kate?" The man replied, "Sawyer?"

Behind him a Hispanic woman was helping the boy to his feet; he kept swaying when he walked.

"Ana Lucia?" The woman looked up and her face was stunned, "Sawyer?...Kate?"

Down a bit further on the beach the blonde woman began shrieking again. The man, Jack, immediately released what Sam assumed to be his daughter and raced down to the shore, right behind him was Kate, trying to keep up like a loyal dog. The rest of the party made their way down, Ana and Sawyer casting glances at Sam and the girl she'd been fighting as though they expected the fight to break out again.

"Nice way to make friends, Ali."

At the beach the small woman stood next to a tall, blondish haired teen who was soaking wet and still holding the crying toddler from before. Behind him was a younger boy with dark hair. The woman had her arm around another boy with another girl clutching at her leg. On the ground was an older man, short with a scruffy face and a large cut on his temple.

He wasn't conscious.

"He just came out of the water and he's not breathing…" The woman was crying, her accent making the words hard to catch.

"Just calm down Claire, stay calm." Kate was moving towards her as Jack kneeled next to the man.

"Charlie! Charlie can you hear me?" Jack shouted.

"He's NOT BREATHING!" Claire shrieked again, she appeared to be shaking. All the children were staring from her to the unconscious man, unsure as to which frightened them more.

Jack began CPR as Kate checked the woman and children for injuries. The teenager had a cut on his side that was pretty deep, but everyone else seemed to have minor wounds. Sam looked at the boy. Something about him seemed terribly familiar. Like she'd seen him before. _Known_ him before. He caught her eyes as she was staring and held his own. They might've stared each other down for days if the man on the ground didn't start coughing up water.

"CHARLIE!" The woman shrieked and dove on to the ground, throwing her arms around him, "Thank God, Charlie! Charlie!"

After they sobered and stood, the children all jumping on him in joy that he was alive. Then everyone was silent.

"Is anyone missing?"

The people present all said no, they weren't missing anyone that they knew about. Kate moved back to Sawyer and Sam, he wrapped his arm around Kate's waist and kept one hand on Sam's shoulder. Territory claimed, in his mind.

Jack moved over to the Hispanic woman and the two teenagers she had her arms around. The blonde woman and Charlie stood with what Sam assumed to be their massive brood.

"Where are we?" The boy Sam had helped finally spoke up.

"Probably hell." She quipped.

"No, it's worse," Her mother's voice shook causing her father to draw her closer, "We're back on the island."

**TBC**

_Author's Note:_

_I updated earlier then normal (by two whole days!) so I expect some warm cookies for that! (just kidding)_

_I began this chapter while watching a documentary on the song "Strange Fruit" so that depression and dark humor might have bled through onto this chapter… but aside from that it's relatively short and basically just presenting a plot point (a plot point that you can probably get from reading the title). It also introduces all our families and establishes some relationships…_

_How did you guys like Sam's meeting of everyone?_

_Did the chapter read ok? Any questions?_

_I wrote the majority of this chapter when I was supposed to be writing a Document Based Question Essay on the French Revolution… so I should probably get back to that. But PLEASE review!_

_Again: PROPS TO BUTTERFLY WITHOUT WHOM MY LAZY ASS WOULD NEVER UPDATE!_

_Reminder: PLEASE PLEASE if your good with art please show me how you see the characters (as my attempt to make aaron was…deplorable at best) and if you'd like to make Aaron's CD cover feel free _


	8. After the Panic

Chapter 7- After the Panic

For a few minutes no one said anything. The children mostly seemed confused, except Aaron who was torn between fear and curiosity, and the adults all seemed to pale. An impending dread filled the air and Claire coughed as though it clogged her lungs. She reached over to Aaron and took her baby into her arms, clutching Adah against her as though she was afraid of cradle robbers. Charlie reached over and swept up the little blonde girl that was clutching at Claire's legs. The two boys edged over to Aaron who put an arm around each of their shoulders. Sawyer's grip on Sam tightened. Ana-Lucia went into mother-mode and put an arm around her daughter, petting the girl's hair as Jack had a hand on his son's arm.

The family's were instantly tense, waiting for the tidal wave to hit, for the lightening to strike, for the attack…but long moments passed and the only thing that happened was Adah began to cry. As Claire was shushing her, rocking her back and forth, she winced.

"Something wrong Claire?" Jack sprang into doctor mode. At least it took the focus off the lingering fear in his chest.

"My ankle…it hurts a bit." Her face was unconvincing; it hurt more then a bit.

"Why don't you put down little…" He waited for the prompt.

"Adah." Claire was already handing her baby back to Aaron, as though the sand would swallow her.

"Adah…alright. Let's see how bad this is." He poked and prodded her, gauging her reactions. Eventually he wiped his hands, "Looks like you twisted it…its going to be sore but if you don't stress it too much it'll be fine soon."

Claire smiled and forced a laugh, "Not stressed with five kids? Who are we kidding…you'll have to amputate it, Jack."

He smiled back, "Yeah I noticed you had quite the –"

"Zoo is the term most often used." Charlie cut in, settling next to his wife on the sand so she wouldn't stand up.

Everyone laughed a little, the air was loosening. Everyone felt comfortable talking about their favorite subject: their children. And as it seemed that conversation on this subject (particularly from the Pace's) would not slacken, they all dove in. It was better then fretting at any rate and delayed the inevitable dread of asking questions that they couldn't answer.

"Well this is Adah." Claire motioned for Aaron to hand her back her baby, she was convinced the girl wasn't safe unless she was being held by her mother, "She's one year old."

Jack reached out and shook one of Adah's chubby fists.

"This is Keely." Charlie motioned to the little girl clutching fearfully to his shirt as though he would stop breathing again, "She's normally a bit more rambunctious but…well I've no doubt her spirit will recover. She's our little diva. Five years old going on fifteen, eh Claire?"

Claire rolled her eyes then motioned for her two younger boys. They wouldn't leave Aaron and dragged him down to kneel next to his parents as Seth sidled up with Claire and Ewan joined Charlie.

"Ewan," Charlie continued, "is eight and the resident trouble-maker. If you find yourself the victim of a night-time face-painting job or find your shoe-laces knotted together it probably means you've been struck by Ewan."

Claire petted the hair of her first Pace baby and cooed, "This is Seth. He's eleven. One of the brightest in his grade, just got promoted to an advanced science class…even won at the science fair!"

Seth gave a shy wave as Charlie thumped Aaron on the back, "And you remember Aaron, don't you, Jack?"

"How can I forget?" Jack reached out a hand and shook Aaron's, "You were smaller then Adah last time I saw you….Kate do you remember that? You helped deliver him after all."

From her position against Sawyer Kate gave a nostalgic nod, "I remember…you were such a chubby baby."

Sam suddenly shook her head as though she'd been hit with cold water.

"Oh my….that's him?" Sam suddenly cocked her head at Aaron. He was not what she expected. Obviously she'd seen pictures of him, snaps of him on the CD cover or on Teen People but she didn't exactly have access to computers or televisions where she could stalk him properly…and he looked different than she recalled from the CD jacket.

"Oh you know him, do you?" Charlie seemed proud but Aaron blushed a little as though the fame was not necessarily the topic he wanted to be discussing right now. Charlie turned to Jack, "Aaron's a singer too! Got a good name, top selling record. Quite popular on the charts…and with the girl's…"

"Dad!" Aaron put his foot down, "I'm sure they don't want to hear about me…" His attention shifted to Sam, "We can talk later, if you like."

Sawyer cleared his throat and pulled Sam closer…he didn't like how the boy suggested the talk. If Sawyer knew one thing it was cheap ways to get a girl alone long enough to figure out if her bra unhooked in front or in back…and he was not going to let some chump pop star try that on his little angel. Sam was aware of his father's position and cocked an eyebrow suggestively, "I'd like to talk."

Jack recorded the exchange with amusement…even more amusement when he realized that Christian go really red in the face and clenched his jaw at the look Sam had thrown Aaron.

"I guess it's your turn, then, Sawyer. Kate…" The way he looked at Kate and passed his eyes between her and her daughter, taking note of how similar they looked and maybe having a moment of 'what if'-ing, "Care to introduce everyone?"

Sawyer glared at Jack, old resentments resurfacing with a new passion. Kate took the incentive to speak but stumbled over the words and blushed, "Well….this is our….our daughter. Samantha. Sam, we call her…she's almost eighteen…next week actually is her….her birthday." She bit her lip, "I think that's pretty much it."

"Eloquent Elmer Fudd." Sam snorted much to Sawyer's approval.

"Obviously you've got a little of him in you." Ana Lucia finally cut in, "Great. Two resident assholes."

Sam's reaction was to get defensive but to her surprise her father let out a rough laugh, "I see motherhood ain't softened you up, Cupcake. Sharp as a tack and cold as ice…suppose some things never change."

He motioned to Sam's cheek, which was beginning to show a bruise, "Guess you taught J.Lo over there you're right hook?"

"Marita doesn't need me to teach her how to fight, she does it fine on her own." Ana clapped a hand on her daughter's back with a tone somewhere between pride and frustration, "Fifteen."

Sawyer eyes became slits as they took in the miscreant that had jumped his daughter then moved over to the other child where they presently widened in surprise, "Shit…they cloned Jack."

Christian was looking at Sam in the same way his father used to look at Kate and Sawyer didn't fail to notice.

"Ain't that just beautiful?" He growled almost to himself.

"Actually it's Christian." Jack piped up, crossing to his son as though he could deflect the look that Sawyer was giving him, "And he's the same age as Sam. Turns eighteen in a couple of months."

There was a strained silence between the two alpha males until Kate cleared her throat and made a peace offering, "Is he? You know I do remember seeing clips of your wedding…I didn't know how far along you were at the time but I was pretty big at that point."

"Yeah…never thought of you as a shotgun man, Jack-O…" Sawyer turned his gaze to Ana-Lucia, "But you…you were always quite the sharpshooter, weren't you?"

Kate elbowed him, hard, "Stop it."

Jack stiffened at the blow and nodded to Sam, "At least you were able to shoot straight once in your life."

The tension was murderously high, Sawyer was seeing red and if his daughter wasn't in front of him he would've been at the doctor's throat. He had not stayed with Kate all this time to have Good Saint Jack come in and try to win her over again.

"I'm hungry." Keely's voice cut through the thickening air, "Daddy, I'm hungry!"

"Me too, dad!" Ewan echoed.

"Mom…I'm hungry." Seth whispered. Adah tugged at her mother's sleeves and pointed to her mouth, squealing excitedly. She didn't really talk yet but everyone was convinced she understood every word they said.

"I don't have any food to give you, darlings." Claire tried to sooth Adah who, at not being given what she wanted with some swiftness, was fast approaching a small fit.

"There's probably still fruit in the trees. We should go get some…everyone's going to need to eat sooner or later." Kate responded, breaking away from Sawyer's iron grip and looking around wildly, "Is there anything to carry it in?"

Jack shook his head as though clearing it, "I've got this jacket, we could tie off the sleeves and….Chris, do you need that sweatshirt? It's pretty warm…thanks buddy. Ok. Well Kate you should go get the fruit as you're the best climber. Maybe, Ana? You want to go? You've got the best sixth sense for trouble and it's not like you're unfamiliar with trees." They shared an odd moment at that statement that caused Ana-Lucia to blush, rarity in and of itself.

Kate nodded at what Jack said, "And you guys should find some downed branches and see if there's any scraps left over from last time…start building some kind of shelter. We need to keep the kids out of the sun…and we need something to keep water in…Are there still supplies at the cave? Ana and I could go look…"

Ana, for once, did not fight for control. She was still standing in between her two children, petting Marita's hair with one hand on Chris' shoulder as though ensuring that they were still there. She only paused in her ministrations to say, "Shelter? We need a defense too."

"Honey there aren't any…" Jack tried to calm her but she cut him off, "We don't know that. We don't know anything and I'm not risking it."

"I'm not risking _them_." She whispered through gritted teeth, nodding at her children.

Jack was still for a moment then nodded, "Right, you two should check the caves. There were some water bottles and last time I checked…there was a broken Halliburton with nine working guns and a little ammunition."

That being said everything was arranged in a few minutes. Kate and Ana-Lucia, armed with their wits and their fists, ventured into the jungle for food and supplies. Claire, Adah and Seth sat under a leafy tree while the others organized a building committee.

"We can use Sam," Sawyer suggested, "She's strong as a horse."

"Thanks for making me sound like a fat, beast of burden dad." He ruffled her hair and she fumed further.

"I'll help." Christian volunteered, rolling up his sleeves.

"Me too…stop it Ewan. I'll play with you later if you go keep mum company…and _don't prank Seth_." Aaron sent off his little brother before the pesky little boy got too underfoot.

Eventually they dug up some metal framework from the plane crash. Even the remains of a tarp. As they were dragging it Christian tried to help Sam lug her piece but she snapped at him, "I can do it, get your own piece."

At that moment Jack was rushed with memories of Kate asking to come on hikes, asking to help organize a search party, asking to have a gun…

"Well, well, well…" Sawyer followed Jack's eye line, "Déjà vu, déjà vu….now where have I seen that before?"

Shaking his head Jack retorted, "Some things never change, Sawyer. Some people never change."

"You're right…I'm still the man giving her the gun." Sawyer handed Jack a rod roughly, "Don't you have your own little arms dealer to keep occupied?"

"Ah, excuse me…hate to break up the reminiscing but could I have a hand?" Charlie was staggering under the weight of a particularly burdensome tarp that was rolled up into the size of a small Volkswagen. Aaron took a step to help but before he could get there Sam was already lifting part of it onto her shoulders.

He took a minute to look at her, not sure how he felt about being cut off. Meeting his eyes she winked, "Big-time star doesn't want to get his hands dirty?"

"Bitchy chit doesn't want to break a nail?" He came back.

Appraising him she nodded and moved over so he could help her with Charlie's tarp.

Christian picked up two long polls and balanced them on his shoulders, walking past the tarp-bearers. As he put them down he wiped his hand across his forehead. The island was significantly hotter then Boston. He stripped off his shirt to reveal a flat chest, not particularly defined but nothing flabby.

Sam made no secret of cocking her head to the side for a better look…which prompted Aaron to nonchalantly strip down.

Meanwhile Kate and Ana were returning with their supplies being pulled behind them in another tarp. As they approached they saw the scene in front of them and Kate couldn't suppress a laugh.

"I know…they're acting like complete idiots." Claire piped up a few feet to their right, "But their teenagers…what did we expect?"

"So what's the story?" Ana knelt down and tickled Adah under her chin.

"It seems that Sam batted her eyes at Aaron, which made Christian take off his shirt, which made Sam look at Christian, which made Aaron take off his shirt…"

"As long as she keeps her pants on they can be as stupid as they want to be." Kate quipped offering Claire a water bottle and handing Seth, Ewan and Adah eat half a mango.

"Aaron's not as hairy as the other boy…but Aaron's got bigger muscles." Ewan commented as he bit into the fruit and the juice spilled all over his chin, "The ladies like Aaron's muscles."

"Where did you hear that?" Claire laughed.

"Teen People."

Ana Lucia and Kate joined in the laughter.

"At least he reads the decent tabloid." Ana Lucia patted Ewan's knee and stood up, motioning to Kate that they needed to pull their tarp further. As they were moving she asked, "Why are they acting like that? I mean…they literally just met."

Kate shrugged, "I don't know…I guess boys will be boys and Sam will be…Sam. She'll play with any fire that comes her way and teenage boys are suckers for competition. Especially for girls… I grew up in this tiny little farm town and if two boys saw a girl within 2 miles of them they'd start fighting over her. Even if they didn't want her! I guess that's just how it goes."

"How it goes? Well it's about to go somewhere alright." Ana motioned to the camp where the makeshift shelter, nearly complete, was being perfected by Christian and Jack as Aaron, pulling a white tee over his head, approached Sam and then disappeared into the jungle. Kate didn't know whether she should be concerned for Sam or concerned for Aaron…who appeared to be in serious danger of Sawyer castrating him.

He approached Kate and angrily bit into a mango she offered, stating, "It's _sick_ how fast things fall back into place!"

"What do you mean?" Kate asked as Ana walked over to help her husband and son.

"That smart-ass and the doctor are going after the girl…and the smart ass is winning!"

Kate laughed, "You didn't seem so upset about it last time!"

"Yeah well…" He couldn't think up a quip and growled, "It's different!"

TBC

Author's Note: hmm….not where I was going with this chapter but it took itself here nicely and is prompting another interesting chapter (which might just reveal what the jungle sex stroll is going to consist of).

I think Marita has spontaneously disappeared from this chapter… oh well, don't like her much anyway. BTW- when I get a chance I will upload pictures! One my friend drew of Sam and one I sketched of Marita (I even have one of Aaron, Sam and Christian but I'll have to see if I can make it bigger)

So…I really didn't think I'd be able to update this week….I guess miracles happen! Long Con is tomorrow and I updated!

PLEASE REVIEW!


	9. First Impression

Chapter 8- First Impression

"Just so you know…I'm not a panty-thrower."

Aaron cocked and eye and couldn't help but let a smile slip, "What?"

Sam blushed a little and he noticed the freckles that danced on her cheeks, then she smiled at him and dimples mixed in with the freckles, "I'm not one of those enraged fans that chucks underwear at you and begs to bear your children."

"Well isn't that a shame? Looks like it's going to be a boring stay at mystery island after all without any wild sexcapades in the palm trees."

They shared an easy laugh and she said, "I didn't even know what you looked like really…I mean the CD cover doesn't exactly look real. I like the music."

"It's refreshing to meet someone who likes the music and not my abs."

"Well I didn't say I hated the abs…" Sam's eyes fell to his shirt which was covering a large tattoo that ran across said abs, "What does the tattoo say?"

"You're obviously not president of the I-Stalk-Aaron-Pace club…" He lifted his shirt to show her. In Olde English font the words "Nothing Competes With Habit" blazed.

Her hand crept out and traced the last word. A shiver shot up Aaron's spine and he pushed down his shirt.

"I've got quite the collection of them… I like tattoos. Permanent reminders."

"Reminders?" Sam tucked a stray curl behind her ear, "I hate to be the one to break it but a Post-It note is a reminder…tattoos are…I dunno. Something dumb you do when you're twenty and drunk."

"I like giving my stupidity some vague semblance of reason." He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Well what does it mean?"

"Lyrics I heard…"

"Oh real meaningful." Sam rolled her eyes, "I bet the singer was a girl and very hot."

"That has nothing to do with it, but yeah…a bit." Aaron smirked and said, "Your folks talk much about the island?"

"My 'folks' don't talk much about the past. We're a very Hakuna Matata family." Sam picked up a stick and began breaking it in halves over and over, "What's done is done, can't change it. Can't take it back even if you wanted to."

Aaron didn't know what to say to that, it took a few minutes before he decided to just go back to his original point, "Well my mum and dad talk about it a lot. With me, mostly. I remind them of it…I was born here. They met here. I'm the reason they met. Anyway, my dad was a drug addict when he landed here."

"What drug?"

"Heroin. And it caused a lot of problems between him and my mum. Problems it took them time to get over. There's nothing my dad regrets more then his drug problem. A lot of my songs are about that. About how he gave up his vice, this fabulous ecstasy, for my mum and it was worth it. The tattoo is something very similar to what he said to me once, he said 'Aaron, habit's a…a hard thing to break. It's like a routine. Like remembering to put your pants on then your shoes. Trying to get rid of it is like putting your shoes on first. It doesn't work out well, it feels odd… and you just want to go back to before. But you have to tough it out.'. When I got into music and the drug dilemma was bound to pop up I got a big Post-It Note from Dad tattooed on my stomach to remind me: bad habits are a bitch."

Sam nodded, "I guess that's better then 'I was drunk and stupid'."

"A bit." He laughed.

For a while they walked side by side in silence.

"So what's your favorite song on the album? And why? If you like the music so much."

"Hard Habit to Break…like everyone else in the universe." She rolled her eyes as though embarrassed to admit she was so predictable, "' 'Fire Dancer' is defiantly a favorite. Then there's 'You're Eyes the Ocean'. And 'Mile High Club'."

"So the popular one, the naughty one, the ballad and the _dirty_ one. Blatantly dirty. My mum nearly refused to let me put it on the CD cause my brothers and sisters would hear it."

"Did she really? Glad someone vetoed that… it's a great song when your feeling mischievous." As she said this she slipped a hand up her shirt to scratch an itch, revealing a flat stomach and drawing her shirt high enough that Aaron stared, hoping for a wardrobe malfunction with every fiber in his body.

"Staring is rude." Sam winked at him.

At least he had the good nature to blush.

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"Have they come back yet?"

"Chris, if you ask again I'm going to smack you with a coconut." Marita picked at a nail that had broken in her fight earlier and sent her brother a glare, "You'd think this was Junior High and she was Lindsay Steitz."

"Do _not_ go there, Marita." Christian was touchy about Junior High. He had been a nerd of the worst kind. Thick glasses, reading books bigger then his head, a know-it-all to the extreme…and to make matters worse he had a major jones for the prettiest girl in his class, Lindsay Steitz. Who at the time was dating a High School jock.

No one, including Christian, knows what deranged thought possessed him to ask her out in the cafeteria…but he carried the scars of that public humiliation to this day.

"I'm just saying, Chris…fourth time you've asked about her in five minutes."

"It's just that we're on a weird island, in the middle of nowhere, we have no idea why we're here, how we got here, who's behind this and she really should've have gone traipsing off into the jungle with-"

"A pop star that's really hot?" Marita rolled her eyes, "If you're that worried go wait with her dad."

"Um, excuse me…Christian was it? And…I'm sorry I-"

"Marita."

"Ah yes, Marita," Claire adjusted Adah's weight on her hip and looked at the Shepard children as though afraid they might bite, "I was wondering if you two could watch my kids for a minute… I was just going to have a talk with your parents and I can't keep an eye on them myself."

"Sure thing." Christian nodded and was promptly handed the baby. Seth shyly sat by Marita, blushing at her and looking away quickly as though he'd be caught staring. Ewan was trying to crack open a coconut with a rock…a feat that had occupied him for twenty minutes and if luck held out the rest of the night. Keely was pouting, obviously having been denied something. She looked around and given the choice between Christian and Marita, she bolted to Marita.

"I like your shirt." She said.

Adah gurgled at Christian and pulled at his ears, trying to get his attention. She didn't succeed for a while. It took her five minutes of pestering before Chris pulled his eyes away from the path that Sam and Aaron had disappeared down and half-heartedly made funny faces at the baby.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever done?"

"Well…one stood outside TRL wearing a towel with a sign that said 'NOTHING gets between me and OffTune!'…that was weird at the time. Funny now."

"What's TRL?"

Aaron froze, "How do you not know what TRL is?"

Sam's defenses shot up, "You wouldn't either if you lived in a car all your life and were constantly moving from state to state. There's not a TV in the backseat."

"You live in a car?" He seemed shocked. He'd lived all his life in very nice apartments and then a large house.

Sam blushed and turned away, fiddling with bark on a tree, "So what?"

"Nothing it's just… why?"

"Thought you said your parents always talk about the island. They didn't tell you about my parents?" She leaned against the trunk and aimlessly kicked the ground, "My mom is a convict, my dad is a con man…not exactly the primo combination. Though at least they can't ever tell me not to cheat or something. That would be downright hypocritical."

"_Your parents_ are the felons? You know I remember hearing a News Report about them a while back… they just don't look the part. Well, your dad maybe but your mum? Did she really …."

"We should be getting back." Sam made an about face and tugged at Aaron's hand, "We really shouldn't be out here at all. Jungle of mystery and we have no idea how we got here or anything…"

He squeezed her hand, "Listen, Sam…I didn't mean to…"

"I know." Taking a breath she looked at their hands, calmly held together as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

Then pulled her hand out of his and kept walking.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Christian didn't notice they were back until someone reached over his back and picked up Adah.

"Hey there Powder Puff! Made a new friend, have you?" He asked his baby sister, tossing her in the air a bit.

Christian looked for Sam and saw her leaning against a tree. She looked a bit…distant. Aloof. Not angry or sad…more like her thoughts were a thousand miles away in a hellhole. He got up and wondered over.

"Have a nice walk?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Have a nice time babysitting?"

She didn't want to talk. It should've been obvious, but sometimes the smartest people did the dumbest things.

"So…you like OffTune?"

"So…you fancy yourself a conversationalist?" Sam snapped back, dropping to the ground and cozying into the sand.

Christian paused, wondering what his next move should be but before he could control his words they slipped out, "That stick up your ass…does it hurt much?"

Sam shook her head slowly, a small smile growing on her face.

"Aha! She smiles." Christian stated triumphantly.

"Surprised you can see that…it's getting so dark." Sam leaned against the tree and watched the ocean.

"You know how to build a fire?" He asked.

"With a Zippo and a lot of newspaper."

He laughed and stood, offering her a hand, "Want to learn how to make one caveman style?"

She accepted the hand and as he pulled her up she quipped, "Baby, I like to do lots of things Caveman Style."

Aaron watched as they disappeared into the brush nearby and started gathering twigs and leaves to start the fire. He felt the urge to get up and help and nearly set Adah down with another slice of mango to occupy her…but then someone groaned.

"Jesus, not you too. It's bad enough with Christian."

"Pardon?" Aaron fixed his eyes on the girl, he'd nearly forgotten she was there having not seen her all afternoon.

"Making goo-goo eyes at her and getting jealous when she goes off with someone else." Marita motioned to Sam who laughed in earnest and pretended to slap Christian's arm, "It's a little pathetic that less then four hours on a deserted island is too long to go without vying for sexual prominence. You'd think you were dogs and she was in heat."

Aaron laughed, "Then I guess I'll stay here and reign in the rampaging Green-Eyed Monster. You are?"

"Marita."

Sawyer cocked an eyebrow at the scene behind him, thinking '_This is going to be interesting'_. Then Kate nudged him back into focus for the problem at hand.

**TBC**

**Author's Note:**

**The TRL Towel idea is from a Dan Radcliffe interview and the girl's sign said "Nothing gets between me and my Harry Potter"…but it was too tempting to cast aside.**

**So….Jate, Skate & Sana are covered….Jana would be incestuous at this point so we're going to by-pass it ….**

**Soon to come: the lyrics for either Mile High Club or Fire Dancer or Your Eyes The Ocean….**

**NEWS: Today I started at my first job ever…which means even MORE time away from the computer! Which means less time to fanfic!**

**But don't worry…I'm not putting this fic on hold…it's too much fun to play with :D**

**I've still updated every week! ALL BOW BEFORE ME!**

**Once more: PROPS TO BUTTERFLY without whom this chapter would still be infantile and undeveloped on my computer suffering from my deplorable procrastination.**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**

**P.S. CALLING ALL ARTISTS! Please feel free to submit any kind of art…I suck at drawing and I'm dying to see what you think these guys look like!**


	10. The Boundaries

Chapter 9- The Boundaries

"Well, ain't it just convenient?" Sam whistled through her teeth.

"What?" Chris asked, head perking up from the loose thread he was picking at.

"That we have our very own Tribal Council deciding our fates." She used the stick she was stoking the fire with to point at the group of adults in a heated discussion.

Aaron looked up from the hand game he was playing with Keely, "Reminds me of C-Span."

"C-Span can be good," Chris countered, "Informational, useful."

"Bores me, though." Sam finally got the fire to roar into life. Aaron shuffled Keely so that she was pestering Seth to play with her. He then moved closer to Sam.

"I wonder what they're talking about."

"Fifty bucks says the island we magically appeared on." Sam quirked an eyebrow at him, "But I guess this mystery vacation has one benefit."

"What's that?" Aaron laid on his side, his head close to her knee.

"An opportunity for you to get another tattoo back home."

He pushed a fistful of sand at her in playful retaliation.

"Yeah I saw that one on your stomach earlier…what does it say?" Marita edged closer to Aaron, ignoring Sam completely.

"I guess that's for me to know and you to find out."

She leaned forward as though she was going to go up his shirt and look but a shout and angry voices burst from the adult huddle. They didn't dismember but Jack had to rein Ana Lucia away from something. Maybe from strangling Kate. Or Sawyer. Either way she hadn't lunged toward the Pace's and Sam had to shake her head.

"Your mom got an anger problem, or something?"

"Yeah, like your dad has an asshole problem." Marita hissed.

"Cool it, you two. We shouldn't be fighting each other." Chris broke in, moving so that if he had to he could physically leap between them.

"Seems like a viable option when she attacks _mi madre_." Marita huffed, giving Sam an evil look.

"But not when we don't know if we'll have to fight what's _out there_." Aaron whispered and suddenly he looked quiet and complacent, "After all isn't that what happened last time? Wait until tension inside the group boils over and then attack while they're weak?"

"I thought they just came from the jungle and took people at night." The fire shadowed Chris' face in a demonic way, "That's what our mom said. Took her a while to let us alone in the dark, she was so afraid 'they'd' take us when she was asleep."

Marita smack him, as though his revelation was far too personal to be made to almost complete strangers. The teens were silent for a long stretch of time. They alternately watched the smaller children and the flickering flames, ignoring the adults completely. The silence didn't suit well and Chris kept watching Sam and wondering. Finally he found a way to sate his curiosity, "How about we get to know each other?"

The group turned to him as though he'd farted at church.

"How so?" Sam prompted.

"I dunno…I was hoping one of you girls would have a sleepover-savvy way of going about it."

Sam snorted, "I've never had a sleep over."

Crickets chirped before Aaron said, "That's a way to do it…'I Never'."

"The drinking game?" Marita rolled her eyes, "You find the tequila around here."

"What drinking game?" Chris turned to his sister, "And how the hell do you know about a drinking game?"

"It's easy to play. Just say 'I Never' and a phrase and I guess since we don't have booze we can just motion with our hands. You drink if you have you don't if you never have." The rules at least broke Chris' potential rant on Marita and Aaron checked the smaller kids to make sure they were occupied before saying, "Everyone game?"

"Sure…but I tell you right now your all going down." The sad smile on Sam's face said that in this instance, winning was not all its cracked up to be.

"I'm in." Marita eyed the others, particularly Sam, as though defining their weaknesses.

Christian merely nodded and Aaron swept his head to Sam and said, "Repeat that sleepover statement."

"I never been to a sleepover."

Marita and Aaron both motioned a drink, but Christian's hand stayed in his lap. Sam quirked an eyebrow, "No Poncho Villa, Don Quixote?"

"Sleeping with other men isn't my style." Christian eyed Aaron who held up his hands with a licentious, "Brother I never said I slept over with boys."

Sam rolled her eyes, "Reign in the wild stallion of hormones, oh King of Pop."

After the laughter died down they decided Marita was next, "I never go down on the first date."

Chris' eyes went wide and he was about to say something when Sam nudged him, "Hey she said 'I never'."

As Chris' eyes turned to Sam, Marita motioned a drink and snickered as Aaron nonchalantly did the same.

"You two prudes done with making cow eyes at each other?"

Sam rolled her eyes and fell on top of Aaron, "Does this count as going down?"

"No, but if you'd like a formal lesson…"

Christian cleared his throat and said, "I've never been caught with my pants down by my parents."

Marita made a drinking motion and as did Sam with the retort, "Bras count, right?"

All eyes fell to Aaron who wore a smug smile as he said, "I've never been caught… what? I'm just that good."

Realizing it was his turn Aaron sat up and eyed the contestants of the game, his gaze falling on Christian, "I've never been pantsed."

Blushing Christian made a drinking motion.

"Right on, mate." Aaron made the motion too, as did Marita but Sam shook her head.

"I never…" her eyes fell directly on Marita, "had to stuff my bra."

Marita flipped her off, the drinking motion assumed. Christian and Aaron both laughed as Aaron observed, "No, I bet you never did have to stuff it, did you?"

"I've never been shot down on a date offer." Marita viciously pat at Sam.

Sam made the motion of getting up to fight but both boys pulled her down.

"I never got my face turned in for being a bitch." She returned.

"I've never had a mug shot instead of a prom picture."

Sam's face was solid red, her eyes raged and her voice terribly low as she said, "I never killed someone."

And then she slowly brought her hand to her face, and made like she was drinking. The quatrain fell silent as Christian looked at Sam with a mixture of awe and pity, Aaron with fear and confusion. No one spoke, both boys let go of Sam and neither she nor Marita made a move towards each other.

Slowly Sam nodded, "I thought not."

Trying to lighten the atmosphere was nearly useless and Sam turned away, her face flushed a brilliant shade of shame. Aaron sat up straight and made to put an arm around her but just then Ana Lucia stormed over with Claire and Kate. Claire and Kate picked up the younger kids as Ana barked, "Grab everything you can, we're heading to the caves."

The men stalked over to them, Jack and Kate were leading the way, Kate walking forward with Keely half-asleep in her arms, and Jack walking backwards carefully doling out instructions, "You guys don't know much about this place, and God knows we haven't told you the half of it. So until we know how we got here, what's going on, etc. there are a few simple rules we're all going to follow.

"First off, no one strays from camp without a partner. Secondly, if you're not within screaming range you take an adult, and said adult is armed. Third, do not make gluttons of yourselves. There's not a lot of food and we don't know how long we're going to be here. Four, the boys and the girls won't use the sectioned off bathroom area at night without someone with them. Same goes for bathing except I want someone to always be with a bather, it's a very vulnerable position. Important note: NO cross gender body guards." He looked right at Christian and Aaron and nodded to the two girls emphatically.

"Lastly, we don't know what's going on. Until we do, the threat OUT THERE" he motioned to the jungle, "is MUCH greater then any threat IN HERE. So keep your petty squabbling to a minimum. We have to watch each other's backs…. No tricks." This glare he fixed on Sawyer.

"You tell 'em, Chief." Sawyer drawled, bored with the monologue.

Ana popped in, "Remember, we have no idea what's out there. Whether its like last time or whether its worse…so don't act like this is a vacation." Her tone became very stoic, "People die out here."

Of course by the time they got to the caves the youngest children were frightened, and practically glued to their parents, refusing to sleep, refusing to leave. The talk they'd heard rather terrified them. But no apologies were made. Sometimes you just had to scare people.

Aaron laid down a jacket next to his brothers' little nests and looked around. Sam was sitting by the water that was trickling in as her parents fussed over something that apparently had nothing to do with her sleeping arrangements, as they repeatedly stepped on the sweatshirt she'd thrown down to mark her territory.

Sitting next to her he said, "Some revelation you made."

"Yeah…" She looked away, embarrassed but then turned back to face him passionately saying, "It's not something I brag about! It's not like I go about wearing a tee-shirt that says that! I just…for some reason it just came out. I don't know why…I don't even know you people."

"Maybe that's the reason for being so open." Aaron swirled some water around distractedly making ripples before he met her eyes, "Take it from someone who knows it, its much easier to be naked in front of a crowd of strangers then in front of your kin."

Sam rolled her eyes at the connection he was trying to make, "It's not like you get naked at concerts…"

"No. But I rarely sing for my family."

Despite the complete randomness of his simile, Sam couldn't help but smile a little. He saw and cupped her chin. Rubbing a thumb over her cheek he whispered reassuringly, "I don't know why…but looking at you I get the feeling that you did what you had to do. You're no killer."

Her eyes closed off and she put her hand in his to push it away. Without a word she walked over to her trodden sweatshirt and curled up, even if she wasn't sleep it was obvious the discussion was over. Sighing and silently berating himself for the mishandled dialogue Aaron retreated to his family's corner of the caves. As he did he missed Christian walk over to Sam, whispering, "I never been to Disneyland."

When it didn't get a response he made an audible chugging noise, as though he was downing a whole bottle. From her position Sam gave half a laugh and motioned a drink.

"I never made an ass out of myself in front of people I was trying to impress."

Christian squeezed her shoulder, "Bottoms up, babe."

**TBC**

_Author's Note:_

_Y'all REALLY owe Butterfly….cause obviously I was THIS close to forgetting that I owe you people a chapter a week._

_I didn't really know where to take this, and I have no idea where I'm going to spring board into for the next chapter…. I'm hoping for some suggestions! Please!_

_Other than that…hope the hackers leave this chapter alone on LF (and for that matter leave the rest of them alone too!) and…I dunno…Happy President's Day?_

_REVIEW PLEASE!_


	11. First Night

Chapter 10- First Night

"Ana I don't think it's a good idea!"

Kate couldn't help but eavesdrop…its not like the caves were big or the voices low. Who could blame her? Beside her Sawyer crept up. She very much doubted he was even questioning his right to spy on Jack and Ana Lucia.

"What? Are you _my_ doctor now, Jack? Are you my therapist? You think I'm having flashbacks? You think-"

"I think I'm your _husband_ and I know you better then some idiot psychologist charging you two hundred bucks an hour for something I can give you for free!" He ran a hand over his short cropped hair, "I think you'd be too anxious to be right, Ana. I don't want another _accident_."

"Just say you don't want itchy fingers near a trigger. It's more honest then 'accident'." She pointed a finger at him, an inch from his eye, "One hair on their heads is touched, and you and I are going to have serious issues."

"Ana, I just don't want you over-reacting…"

"And I don't want you under-reacting! Don't want you losing the guns like last time!"

"Lost?" Jack bellowed, "Lost! Sawyer _stole_ them! Stole them!"

"At least he _did_ something, Jack! He didn't sit around debating the logic of it! He did something! Even if it was wrong! Even if it was selfish and stupid, _he did something!_" They were in each other's faces like boxers in a ring.

"Maybe you want him to do something again?" Jack's face was red, his voice straining against the emotions.

"It's more then you're doing! I bet he's going to make sure his kid's safe! And trust his wife!"

"I'm protecting my kids, don't you ever say I'm not protecting my kids, and she's NOT his wife! They aren't married!"

Ana's face was dangerously dark, "Sure you took notice of that real quick, didn't you Jack?"

From where she was standing Kate bit her lip. She didn't exactly have a great track record with marriages (which is precisely why she never let Sawyer consider the thing, even though it wouldn't have been legal anyway) and she hated the thought that her relationship was a thorn in another couple's side.

Sawyer sidled up next to her and squeezed her shoulder; it was his way of saying that she shouldn't worry about it.

There was a pause in the fighting as both sides took deep breaths. A few paces behind them their kids were doing expert jobs of pretending they were occupied with something other then the elephant in their living room.

"If she were asking for a gun would you give it to her?" Ana snipped accusingly.

"What?"

"Kate, if Kate asked for a gun would you give it to her."

"No." Jack shook his head, "No one is in the right state of mind to have a loaded weapon in their hands right now. We're all tired, frazzled, worried and scared. Semi-automatics don't work into that equation."

"Tell that to the man who saved us last time, Jack! When we were scared, sick, hungry, tired, dehydrated and cornered. Tell it to the man that gave us the guns…"

"Don't go there, Ana!" Jack's eye twitched. He never had a twitch until he got married…somewhere his father was laughing at that twitch, "Don't go supporting the lunacy of some ego-maniac-"

"Hey!" Sawyer called over the small closure of the caves, "The Sheriff says that you two are disturbing the goddamn peace…so can it and let's hit the hay!"

"Sheriff!" Jack was about to go off again but Ana had thrown herself onto her nest of leaves and tarp, leaving Marita and Chris to put their arms around their dad and coax him to calm down.

Kate rolled her eyes at Sawyer, "You just love being a Sheriff."

"Yes m'am, I do! Get me a shiny badge, a big gun…a pretty lady." He pulled her close and whispered against her ear, "The lady's love the gun."

Pushing him playfully against the chest she snorted, "Like your gun impresses me anymore."

He quirked his eyebrows, "That so, Freckles? Want to trade in the old horse for a sassy new colt?"

His tone was light, he was past insecurities of losing her and instead pinned her against the cave wall and proceeded to remind her of why she liked her old horse just fine. It wasn't until Sam violently cleared her throat behind them that they recalled they were in a public place.

"Um, you're scaring the kids." She sung her head at the youngest pace children who were watching with a mixture of disgust and curiosity.

"It ain't scaring them, its teaching them… don't they wanna know where babies come from?" Sawyer kept a light teasing tone with Sam, his public displays of affection with Kate never failed to invoke a gagging response from Sam (who has lost a lot of sleep because they were a bit loud in bed and was not prepared to accept that her parents were actively sexual creatures).

"Dad, we all know you're a stud muffin…can you stop flaunting it, detach yourself from mom's neck and come to sleep?" Sometimes Sam wondered if she was really the parent of two very naughty children who hated to go to sleep and were constantly caught doing everything but.

The Pace's were the only relatively normal family. They were putting the kids to bed, tickling and teasing and kissing them until their eyes were closed. At least they appeared normal. Normal if Charlie didn't keep his bloodshot, tired eyes wide open and if Claire didn't jump at every rustle in the jungle.

It seemed to the teens that they were finally seeing the trauma that the island was to their parents. They finally saw the deep scars left from their experiences. Aaron was the oldest of five, as such he rarely got special attention from his mother because she was preoccupied with the rest. But tonight she checked on him as frequently as Adah and kept asking if he was alright. There was something in her eyes, something deep and troubled…primal. Claire was in a corner, and prepared to lash out at whomsoever tried to touch her children. Charlie was little better and judging by his tendency to overcompensate and jump to conclusions, Aaron was pretty happy he didn't have a gun.

In the caves the sound of falling water and the aftermath of their adrenaline-rushed day lulled everyone asleep. Even the paranoid parents, the twitchy Charlie and the hawk-eyed Ana-Lucia. The lumpy sweatshirts and musky, moth eaten blankets were poor bedding, but after the high of chaos the calming spell of sleep was too inviting to refuse. The parents, who had been so intent on keeping vigil, were all sound asleep now. In some part of their minds they rationalized that Dharma was gone after the terrible exposure from last time. They were so tired they didn't have time to wonder at how unusual it was that they all basically fell into island-mode (sleep-on-rocks, eat-mangos and wipe-ass-with-leaves). In some minds, Kate and Jack specifically, it was as though they had never left the island. As though they had just woken up from a long nap and found new people in their camp.

Most of the night was quiet… it wasn't until after midnight that they came.

Sam was sleeping peacefully when she was violently jogged from her dreams by a hand clamped over her mouth and another trying to pin her hands. Her screams were muffled but she screamed and kicked out her legs, trying to free her hands. Kate and Sawyer stirred when they heard the muted cries and pounced on the figure who was on their daughter. Sawyer immediately relied on brute strength while Kate used her head-butts and groin kicks to great effect. As Kate yanked Sam away from the figure she examined her, her pulse tripled, her panic blurred her vision, but she forced herself to focus on her daughter. Looking her over, once, twice, and again she only found four long scratches down one cheek.

Panting, Sawyer ran up, "You alright?"

"Fi—"

"HELP!" Claire shrieked, another figure had Ewan in his arms and was dragging him off to the jungle, someone else was trying to get to Adah but Aaron was fighting them.

Sawyer dashed off to help Claire while Kate kept one arm firmly around her daughter. That is until Sam saw another figure sneak up behind Aaron and try to gag him. Then she sprinted out of Kate's hands and flew at the man, tackling him. Charlie proceeded to whack the other man with a large stick. Aaron fell beside Sam and helped her subdue his second attacker when Marita screamed. She was thrown over someone's shoulder and halfway into the jungle when Ana-Lucia smacked the person full in the face with a large stone. Jack and Chris were a few feet away fighting with someone else, but they froze dead when Ana smacked the man in the face.

It was a thud like a watermelon falling on pavement from a balcony.

Marita was splattered with blood and, crying, crawled to a tree and hugged its trunk until her mother made to hit the man's face again.

"_No, mamá. Por favor no lo hagas! Dejalo ir!_" (1) Marita cried, near hysterics, and reaching out for Ana to hold her.

Ana abandoned her victim and threw herself into Marita's arms. A shrill whistle sounded and suddenly all the attackers disappeared into the night as swiftly as they came. Chris chased after one, shouting for him to come back and fight, but Jack found him and held him back.

"Let them go, Chris…let them go."

They made their way back to the caves where Ana proceeded to run up to Jack and push him hard in the chest.

"OVERREACTING! _OVERREACTING!_ WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT, JACK!" She was crying as she screamed and instead of letting him hold her she pulled Chris to her and cradled both her children's heads on her shoulders, as though she could protect them from the world.

Marita was frightened, visibly shaken. She had never seen that raw, violent side of her mother and it frightened her beyond words. It scared her that if she hadn't screamed stop, Ana Lucia would've killed Marita's would-be abductor with only her hands and a rock.

Claire, meanwhile, was absolutely frenzied over her children. She was trying to hold all five at once and only managed in hugging the two girls, as the boys clung to her and Aaron put his arm around her, trying to comfort her. Charlie was fussing over the children as much if not more, and he kept picking up one of the younger ones and looking them over for injuries. Then he'd turn to Aaron, tears in his eyes and pet his cheek as though he were a little boy again.

Sawyer and Kate were fussing over Sam's cheek but she kept pushing their hands away. She seemed nearly unconcerned at the attack, even though her mother was physically shaking over it. Sawyer had an arm around each of his women and was holding them close, but Sam shrugged him off. This wasn't the first raid Sam had lived through.

As she pushed herself away from her family she realized she had something in her hand, and was clutching it so tight that it was cutting into her palm.

"This must be theirs." She said.

Although she'd spoken quietly the whole camp turned quiet as a graveyard and all eyes turned to her. Sam opened her fingers to reveal a small, white, laminated rectangle.

"It's a nametag." She said, "Dr. Neil Murtag."

Jack walked over to her and studied the nametag.

"Christ…" He exhaled, "The Dharma insignia's on this."

All the adults paled as Jack pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, "It makes no sense."

"What doesn't?" Claire peeped up.

"Nothing." Jack seemed to shake off the thought he'd been having until Ana walked up to him, realizing he knew something.

"Jack," Her tone was firm, no nonsense, "Tell us."

"Their shoes." Everyone gave him a look as if to say 'Jack's finally gone off the deep end', "They were wearing surgical booties."

"Jack, did you get hit in the head or something, mate?" Charlie asked.

"No, they were wearing the paper bootie covers that go over your shoes in surgery. And they smelled like the surgical soap we use, it has a very distinctive odor if you're used to smelling it. Like lye and Dial with a touch of…"

"Thank you, Doctor Demento, but can you please tell me what the hell this has to do with a bunch of Dharma goons trying to take our kids?" Sawyer growled, getting frustrated with Sam's distance and Jack's existence.

"I don't know, Sawyer." Jack shook his head, "But I'd like to know why thugs dressed in surgery gear are coming to take our kids. And I'd like to know why Dharma is involved…and I'd like to set up a watch with guns from now on."

"Papi, no dejes que regresen, por favor, no dejes que regresen." (2) Marita mewled as she burrowed her head into Jack's shoulder and started to cry again. Rubbing her shoulder and shushing to her, Jack looked over at Ana, "You were right…and I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

She nodded but wouldn't smile, "I'll take the first shift."

"Mommy, why is this happening? Why are we here?" Keely cried as she clutched at Claire, Seth put an arm around her as Claire shook her head, "I don't know, baby…but I won't let them hurt you."

Charlie was cradling Adah as Ewan started taking a few steps away from the group. Something about him was more serious and emotionless then he'd ever been in his whole life, something was afraid. Aaron noticed and went over to him but the minute he touched him Ewan flinched and pulled away. When Aaron tried again Ewan shook him off and ran to sit down beside the water fountain. From across the camp Sam motioned to Aaron to stay put. She sidled up to where Ewan was sitting and he turned away from her when she sat down.

"Did they hurt you?" She asked gently.

"No."

"Lucky."

Curious at her response he turned and saw her cheek. With childlike awe he reached up a hand to touch it, "Does it hurt?"

"No….are you afraid?"

"No." He stuck out his chin but it wobbled with restrained tears, she opened her arms and said, "It's okay to be scared."

He didn't crawl into her arms, but he did sit closer and let her smooth his hair with her fingers, "You should get some sleep, Ewan. It'll make you feel better."

Ewan shook his head violently, "What if they come again!"

He broke into tears then, afraid to sleep, afraid to be taken, and afraid to stay awake and face them again. Sam pulled him against her chest and continued to stroke his hair. Clearing her throat she sang gently.

"Sometimes the world is on your shoulders

And it's always raining in your head

You can't even think straight

Or go to bed…"

Ewan recognized the song as one of his brother's…but the way Sam sang it was just like a lullaby. Her voice was surprisingly good, deep and gentle like the waves on the ocean and she never hit a false note. It seemed to the boy that she was an angel singing him to sleep. He wasn't the only one listening, slowly but surely everyone turned and listened to her.

"Forget all your worries, let them fall out of your head,

I swear nothing will harm you when you climb into bed

Give me your all so it's all out of you

And there's nothing left to weigh you to

This world that can cause so much pain,

Think of the rain on the rooftop, Or the hum of a song,

The pulse of a heart…"

Sawyer and Kate shared a secret smile as Sam sang, proud of her. Marita stopped sobbing against her father and closed her eyes, focusing on the music as though it were an oasis in the desert. The Pace family was the most taken aback by the action, but all were hypnotized. This was a remix gone right.

"So let your body rest

Leave this world and all its mess

Go where there is serenity

It's such a simply destination

If you follow one simple instruction

Close your eyes

Close your pretty eyes

Release yourself in sighs

Let your soul flow free

As you lay down with me

Just Close Your Eyes…"

As she crooned the last part her audience wanted to applaud, but realized it was the wrong moment to do so. Smiling at the looks of praise she was given and blushing as though to brush them off, Sam picked up the sleeping Ewan and carried him over to his parents. There she looked Aaron directly in the eye.

For a moment he didn't know what to say, "That was-"

"Naked in a crowd." She gave him a small smile and he squeezed her arm, a thank you and a truce.

She walked back over to the fountain and stared at her reflection absently. Within a few minutes she saw one join her. Turning her head she nearly bumped noses with Christian who shyly smiled at her. He reached past her and touched a clean rag into the water then held it up, "Can I have a look at your cheek?"

Without a word she turned her head to give him access, as he gently wiped the dirt from it he asked if she was alright.

"Better now." She smiled at him before returning to her parents, who cooed over her and watched her sleep the rest of the night, as they had when she was born, just to make sure nothing stirred her again.

**TBC**

(1)Spanish line translates to- No, mommy! Please don't! Let him go!

(2) Spanish line translates to- "Daddy don't let them come back, please don't let them come back."

- thanks to Christina for the translations!

Author's Notes:

Once more, thank you Butterfly! My most loyal pest! (love you!)

Hehehe, most of you didn't guess actual Others from the spoiler I gave you! Bwahahaha! Evil I am! Evil!

What do you think?


	12. Aftermath

Chapter 11- Aftermath

_They hadn't moved in over a month, and she was starting to let herself feel at home. Sure they lived in a run-down house that was little more then a glorified shack, but hell, it wasn't the car. She had a room. With a bed. Okay, so it was a futon with one leg that was evened out with an old copy of Moby Dick, but it wasn't the backseat. She even had a dresser to put her clothes in. True, she didn't have a lot of clothes to put in it, but if they stayed a while, maybe Mom would take her shopping. Shopping. Not shoplifting. Receipts meant permanence in her head, something solid that she could hold onto and recall her place and time. Those two things were so often lost to her as she currently lived without a clear construct of either._

_"Sam! Samantha!" Her father called into the crappy hole of a kitchen where the seven year old was sitting on a stool with a foolish grin on her face. She turned to him and said in the most innocent, and pure voice, "Yes, daddy?"_

_"Bed time, Sugar." Sawyer couldn't decide whether she was up to mischief or being sincere, and was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. She hopped down from the stool and lifted her arms to him to be picked up. When he swept her off her feet she swung her arms around his neck and squeezed with all her might. He returned the hug without knowing why he received it and she promptly untangled herself from the embrace and flounced off to bed._

_Kate came in to watch Sam's joyful exit and followed the girl's light steps with wary eyes._

_"What's she so excited about?" _

_"Beats me." Sawyer shrugged and looped a finger in Kate's jeans, pulling her closer, "How bout I get you excited?"_

_Kate pushed off of his chest with a firm shake of her head, "We'd probably cause the roof to collapse if we rocked the bed too hard…not exactly an opportune event."_

_"Might be fun." Sawyer began trailing kisses down her neck, "Be one," Kiss. "Hell." Kiss. "Of." Kiss. "A notch in the belt."_

_She pulled away, "Only you'd be turned on by demolition."_

_"You'd be turned on by it too, if you let me have the chance to show you how good it can be…"_

_"Sawyer, please don't try and seduce me in this shit hole. I hate living here, I don't think the potential impregnation that results from running out of the pill is really high on my list of fun activities right now."_

_"Ain't a shit hole." Sawyer kind of liked the run-down homely look of the place. Wasn't the Ritz, but hell…he liked having some roots._

_"Then what is?" Kate, on the other hand, could live without roots. Especially broke-down ones._

_"Kid likes it." Sawyer shrugged. _

"Goddamn, Bride of Chucky! Can't you take a joke?"

Sam's eyes sprang open, ready for action, ready for the hit, but only found her father nursing a slapped cheek and her mother holding in a great wave of laughter. Cocking her head like a confused owl Sam tried to see what was going on, but didn't have time to analyze it before a large mango was dropped onto her stomach.

"Good morning, sunshine." Aaron sang as he squatted down next to her and she smiled, humming the song as she took out a pocket knife and started carving the fruit.'

"Why don't you sing it?"

"No thanks." Sam blushed as she offered a piece to Aaron. He took it and continued pestering her, "You should sing it."

"If anyone should sing it is one of the two people who have platinum records."

Aaron smirked, "But I'm not a pretty girl with a pretty voice…there's the difference."

"Since I'm a girl I have to sing? I didn't think I'd have to have my 'sexism deserves to be met with the same tolerance as nipple tweaking' talk with you."

He laughed so hard he choked on his mango, forcing Sam to pat him on the back until he settled down. When the coughing subsided he reclined, laying his head in her lap and looking up at her.

"Comfortable, Ringo?"

"Immensely." He took another piece of mango from her, "Can you please sing? … I'll sing with you."

Sam wore a smug face, "You want it that bad?"

"I want it pretty bad."

She pretended to contemplate it, "When we sing, things are going to get out of hand very quickly."

Aaron sat up and adjusted himself so that he was leaning over her legs, inches from her face, "That's fine with me."

Sam leaned closer and Aaron stared at her lips, failing to see the mischievous twinkle in her eye, as she said, "I don't sing for a crowd."

He leaned in as if to kiss her, "Than let's disappear…"

Suddenly he was pulled up by the scruff of his neck, "What in the hell do you think you're doing, Axl?"

Sawyer had recovered from whatever injury he had sustained from Claire and was dragging Aaron bodily away from Sam. She gave Aaron a faux sad wave goodbye and stood up, walking over to the water pool for a drink.

"I see you don't waste time." Marita slinked over to the water and eyed Sam.

"Early girl gets the worm." Sam winked at her.

Rolling her eyes Marita said, "Talvez un cuero desde ahora." (1)

"Juega bien con los demas, Marita, o salte del juego." (2)A voice came up behind her and Christian stepped into the light, some leaves in his hair from the night.

"A ti no te interesa, Christian, no te metas." (3)

"Tu si me importas, hermanita, no quiero verte con otro ojo moretiado."(4)

"Podría hacerle daño a tu noviecita si quisiera." (5) Marita puffed up in defense and stalked away, her face red with anger and embarrassment.

Sam looked confused, as though she was trying to decipher the barking of dogs.

"Sorry about that," Christian turned to her, "Must be annoying being the third wheel to a conversation you can't understand."

"Little bit…she doesn't like me, does she?" Sam nodded after Marita.

"Not really…but she doesn't like girls. Apparently they're all bitches."

"That's true enough."

Christian laughed and stepped closer, putting up a finger to gently trace the new scabs on Sam's cheek. A shiver passed over her as he did and she backed away from his hand.

"It's healing up pretty good." He nodded at it, mentally crossing something of a list.

"I thought your old man was the doctor…you in training or something?"

"In a way…it's a bit genetic. Shepard men tend to be doctors."

"Why?" Sam studied his face as he spoke, a mixture of joy and terror.

"We love to be the heroes."

_"Are you a hero, daddy?" Sam asked looking at her father with big eyes as her mother finished the story about how he nearly died on the raft that was trying to save those stranded on the island._

_A dark look came over his face, "Honey, your daddy ain't a hero."_

_"Sawyer," Kate chastised, "Don't tell her that."_

_He ignored her and put two hands on Sam's shoulders, "Baby, don't trust heroes."_

_"Why?" _

_"'Cause there ain't a hero alive that ain't as human as you or me."_

Sam's eyes studied Christian, "I don't trust heroes."

He couldn't tell whether to smile or frown, "Why not?"

She looked past him, "They're all fake."

From a distance Aaron was breaking a stick into a thousand pieces, trying to decide whether he was angry or excited. Charlie walked over to him and followed his eyes, "She's cute."

Aaron started and looked at the man who had always been his father, "Pardon?"

"Looks like her mum. I might be married, but I'm not blind…she's a good looking girl."

"Who Sam?" Aaron tried to play off his racing heart at being cornered by his father. It wasn't often Charlie butted into Aaron's love affairs.

"You're a piss poor liar, Aaron…which makes my job a bit easier."

"She's a pretty girl…is there that much more to it?" Aaron nibbled on the stick he'd been breaking.

"How about you come back to talk to me when you know the answer to that one, eh mate?" Charlie patted Aaron on the back and walked back to Seth and Ewan, both somberly throwing sand in a pile after their mother tried to get them to build a sandcastle.

Meanwhile Marita had huffed away from her brother and right into her mother. She nearly bashed skulls with Ana Lucia who, although being in a hurry to go somewhere, saw the anger and dejection in her daughter's eyes and stopped for a moment to brush a stray hair away from her face and asked her what was wrong.

"Nothing." She wouldn't meet her mother's eyes.

Instead of inquiring further, Ana asked, "You busy?"

"Yeah I have a pedicure in twenty minutes." Marita rolled her eyes.

Ana smiled, "Come with me."

Ana led her to a clearing where a pile of guns sat with some cleaning rags and ammunition. They sat there for twenty minutes cleaning guns, something both found oddly calming. Soon Marita began to talk to her mother.

"Cómo es que siempre soy la maldita dama y nunca la novia." (6)

Stroking the long barrel thoughtfully Ana did not speak, merely looked at Marita. The girl was scrubbing the gun harshly and snapping the various parts of it into place sharply, muttering indiscernible things. When the gun was spotless and all the rust was worked away Ana took the gun, loaded a chiseled rock into it and fired it into a trunk, testing to make sure all mechanisms were fully functioning. Then she placed the gun in a pile and handed Marita another. When the pile of ten guns were all immaculate Marita stood and let out a breath, significantly calmer.

"Thank you." Marita sighed, wrapping an arm around her mother's waist, "That helped…a lot."

"Your welcome, baby." Ana kissed her daughter's head and slung an arm around her shoulders. Ana had cleaned a lot of guns in her time…and worked off a lot of anger.

Sometimes…sometimes you just had to get your hands dirty and work off the aftermath.

**TBC**

Spanish Translations- Thank you to Christina for doing these for me!

"Early slut, maybe."

"Play nice, Marita, or leave the playground."

"This isn't your business, Christian, butt out."

"You're my business, little sister. I don't want to see you get another black eye."

"I could damage your little girlfriend if I wanted to!"

"How is it that I'm always the goddamned bridesmaid and never the bride!"

BIG Thanks to Christina for those translations, can't thank her enough!

BIG Thanks to Butterfly for continually poking me….without her you would all have significantly fewer chapters!

BIG thanks to the Oscars for giving me a cover for saying cowboys are sexy to the cowboy I'm trying to snag for my own

BIG thanks to Macy's for having a GORGEOUS Prom Dress in my size and …

BIG THANKS!

LoL

Please review!


	13. Flashbacks

Chapter 12- Flashbacks

_The fan droned endlessly next to her bed, Sam was sound asleep and, for once, dreaming good dreams for once in her life. Next to her bed her parents sat, drowning in sweat, too hot to sleep, too hot to do anything except sit by the only fan they had and watch Sam sleep._

"_I wish it were always like this." Kate leaned her head on Sawyer's shoulder._

"_What? Uncomfortably hot to the point that even sex is an exertion?" _

_She laughed lightly and pushed him playfully. Though the mood did not last, as soon as her eyes settled back on her baby they grew solemn again, "I wish she had _something_ solid. We both do…just because we run away from it and try to pretend it never existed doesn't mean it's not still there. All she has is a broken-down truck and us."_

"_We're pretty solid." Sawyer didn't want to come down on Kate with his views on the way they were raising their child, but it was one of the few topics he could become eloquent about._

_It wasn't his fault they were on the run, and both of them knew it. If Kate wasn't one of the most wanted criminals in the United States then he could've hunkered down somewhere and no one really would've cared. But running with Kate meant running all the time, running with every breath you took. It meant never stopping, never looking back. They always had to be two steps ahead…and that was a tough place for an eight year old to be._

_Kate's ear twitched suddenly and she reached to turn off the fan._

"_Why the hell did-"_

"_Listen!" She hissed and craned her neck up to stare at the ceiling. It took him a second but he heard it…sirens. Sirens drawing closer._

_Without pausing to think Sawyer scooped Sam into his arms, the motion rousing her. Kate was rushing out of the room, gathering what she could as quickly as she could. _

"_What's going on?" Sam yawned and tried to blink her eyes into focus._

_Sawyer pitied her, he did. She seemed so happy in the cabin they were stowed away in. She didn't realize it was crappy, run-down, and any number of terrible thing…because it was the closest thing to a home she ever got. The school they registered her to was the one she'd been at the longest. He could tell she was beginning to feel a sense of permanence…_

_And now they were taking her feet out from under her again._

"_We're leaving, Small Fry." _

_Sam was pounding his chest and shoulders, crying to be let down, she wanted to stay…PLEASE LET ME STAY! PLEASE! I'LL BE A GOOD GIRL! I'LL BE A GOOD—_

"_Kate Austin! James Ford! Please come out of the house and put your hands where we can see them!" _

_Kate put a hand to Sam's mouth, her eyes wide with panic, "Sam you've got to be quiet, alright, baby? You've _got to be quiet._"_

_They were going towards the back of the house, the truck was there, so was a back road. They were in the car. The engine was started. They were halfway down the road when the shots began…_

_Sam didn't know what was happening. Loud bangs were quickly followed by something pushing the truck, something small and fast like a good-sized rock. Sometimes they broke the windows. Her father was crouched as low as he could be and still see the road, her mother was hovering completely over her, pressing her flush against the seat and nearly smothering her. She wasn't crying because she realized they were shooting at them, she was crying because she was leaving the place she had finally given the word 'home' to…the place she'd stayed in the longest. _

_She remembered wrestling out from underneath her mother and sticking her head out of the window and reaching back for the house, crying her eyes out. That's when she saw the police cars…and when they saw her._

"_CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE! THERE'S A CHILD IN THE TRUCK! CEASE FIRE!"_

_A couple of suave moves later they had abandoned the bullet-ridden truck in a ditch and were continuing on foot. Sawyer had taken a shot in the meaty part of his arm, a number of them had grazed Kate's back and all three of them were cut from the glass shards that had been flying…_

_But the injuries didn't hurt Sam._

_She just realized, for the first time, that there was never going to be a 'home' for her…not so long as she was her parents' child. _

Sam snapped awake, drenched in a cold sweat. She could still hear the bullets ringing in her ears and see the cabin fading into the distance. The megaphone revealing the only secret left to the small Ford family, that Sam existed. All the intricate lies they had manufactured to keep Sam a secret were all for nothing now that the police had seen her.

She almost forgot she was on the island with a whole new set of problems. Shaking her head and feeling the sweat flick off of her she stumbled over to the water and threw a few handfuls on her face. Christian saw and walked over to her, "Sam! Are you okay?"

"Get the hell off of me!" She threw his hands away from her and all but ran into the jungle, the redness of restrained tears crowding every inch of her face.

Chris stood blank with shock, what had he done to piss her off? Sawyer and Kate weren't in the clearing, they had gone to see about a certain waterfall and check its "water quality". There was no one to go after her, she shouldn't just be out there on her own. Chris made to go after her but his mother stopped him, "Where do you think you're going?"

"After Sam…"

"I don't think so." Ana Lucia strengthened her grip on him, "I don't care if the Spawn of the South's greatest jackass gets taken by crazies, but I'm not letting you go out there."

"But mom-"

"Where'd Sam go?" Aaron popped up beside them, motioning to the wake of Sam's exit.

"Jungle…looked upset."

Without another word Aaron reached into Ana Lucia's pocket and withdrew a gun, shoved it in his own pants, and took off at a jog after Sam. Seeing his disappearing form deflated Christian, noting his reaction Ana patted his shoulder.

"Un dia, me lo agradeceras. Ella no es nada mas que problemas. Como su madre." (1)

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_She used to storm off a lot, his mother. Used to get fed-up with money making projects his father did, or interviews he agreed to, or pictures he let leak…sometimes the act of being married to a pop-star really wore thin on her. His childhood was full of slammed doors and shouting, particularly when there was a new baby who met old problems. Luckily, heroin wasn't one of them, but each child she had made Claire more and more wary of both her husband and eldest son. They were both exposed to it, and she didn't want that horrible stuff back in her life, her children's lives, or Charlie's life._

_Aaron was used to her walking away from Charlie when she was mad. She used to say things like "Sometimes I ruddy DO miss Locke!" or mutter something about how accurate a druggie's perspective must be. Aaron was used to her attacking Charlie… but when she turned it on him it was more then disheartening. It was flat out heart-breaking._

_After having Seth she went through pretty bad post-partum. Seth was the only child she had post-partum with, but it was a hell of a ride for everyone concerned. Aaron remembered her screaming at him that she wished she HAD given him up for adoption, she wished she had trusted her gut and gotten rid of him before everything happened, that he ruined her life…then after the medication calmed her down she snuck into his bed, held him close and kissed him saying, "It was always meant for it to be you and me, Aaron. We were meant to take care of each other. Meant to be together. I'm so sorry."_

_Later he recalled her reaction to his decision to go into music._

"_You don't have to copy him, he's not your father or anything! You don't have to do that to impress him! Just do what makes you happy!"_

_Claire meant well, but motherhood doesn't come with a guidebook and when you have four other young children to care for, sometimes your words don't come out as eloquently as they should. Still, he wanted to make her happy…he did. That's why he played for a pop crowd, not the true rock he would've liked. He kept clean. He tried to stay away from the girls (though they rarely stayed away from him) and he was always helping with his family, being a part of it. It wasn't that he would've have done most of this stuff anyway…its just a matter of feeling as though it was forced upon him._

_Like when he wanted to move to Australia, when he wanted to join the Peace Corps…when he wanted to go to Flight School. All the time his mother said no and he didn't do it to make her happy._

_Consequently, he didn't take that kind of shit from too many other people. Someone ran out on him he followed them, because dammit he wanted to know why._

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"Sam? Sam!" Aaron called out, swiping branches away from his face.

"I don't need a goddamn babysitter."

"I'm not here to baby-sit you!" He caught up to her and caught her shoulder, forcing her to turn around. Her face was dark with memories.

"I don't need a _friend_ either."

Tightening his grip he drew her flush against him, "I don't recall ever saying the word 'friend'."

Sam pushed away from him and hissed, "Don't even think like you know about me! Like you know that I want or what I need!"

"Then tell me!"

"Why the hell do you want to know?"

Aaron ran his hands through his spiked hair angrily, "I just _want_ to!"

It seemed that Sam didn't get sad, she just got angrier, angrier at everything that moved and breathed, because everything that lived had abandoned her at some point, had waited in the dusty trails her family always wound up creating.

"But _why_?" A tear nearly escaped, "You don't know who I am."

Her voice was so quiet on the last part he barely heard it at all. She sank to a crouch and sat there, frozen, her hands over her face even though she was not crying. He could only watch her as she shook her head slowly, over and over.

"No one was ever supposed to know I existed. They hid me so well that no one knows me…" Looking up at him, full of some immense private misery, she muttered, "If I wanted the company of a dick I'd be hanging around my father."

"Am I a dick? Or am I grouped as one simply because I have a dick?"

"You're a dick because you want to 'help' me due to the perceived quality of my breasts."

He couldn't help but laugh, "Now how did you come to that conclusion?"

"It's what always happens." She sniffed but looked at him oddly, trying to interpret the laughter.

"Well, it's not happening. I've seen enough breasts not to lie to girls to convince them to show me theirs. I'm here because I was worried about you running off into the jungle on your own…Besides, I'm an ass man."

Laughing she wiped her eyes. He thought he'd won her when her eyes deadened.

"I don't want a hero to rescue me."

Cocking his head he replied, "Who does?"

Several yards behind them Christian was watching through the trees. As Aaron draped an arm over Sam and pulled her closer, comforting her, Chris angrily charged back to camp where his mother saw him fuming next to the water fountain. Sighing and shaking her head she resisted the urge to go to him, after all it was more Jack's area.

And besides…sometimes you couldn't teach your kids something. They had to learn it on their own.

**TBC**

_Spanish Translations Curtesy of Christina!_

"One day, you'll thank me. She's nothing but trouble. Like her mother."

Might see my cowboy tomorrow…wish me luck!

THANKS BUTTEFFLY my pest extraordinaire!

This chapter flowed differently then I thought…and sometimes the flow was odd. Finished it after seeing Capote so that might reflect.

PLEASE REVIEW!


	14. Muses

Chapter 13- Muses

_He didn't recall much mythology, but as an artist he did remember the muses. The women that inspired all art, musically or otherwise. He liked the idea so much that he had Ode to Euterpe (the Muse of Music) tattooed around his left wrist. What he really liked about the Muses was that they were beautiful women…and Aaron could appreciate beautiful women._

_Muse-wise he had yet to meet anyone. Most of the girls he wrote about weren't real (unless he was writing about some of his more…assertive fans). In fact the ambiguous Euterpe that whispered in his ear didn't have any kind of identity to a real person._

_There were always the lovely trysts he had. Skin on skin, nails raking across his back, lips everywhere and the softness of being cradled against someone's body…the hardness of the lunges and sighs, the animal side of him that popped out…The sex was good, great…and fun to write about._

_But to become immortal you had to write about more then boobs. _

_Tapping his pen violently against the desk, staring at his tattoo and praying for a visit from Euterpe, he was jogged back into reality by the feel of arms around his neck and breasts against his back._

_"Aren't you coming back to bed, Aaron?"…_

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Aaron opened his eyes slowly, sad to see the dream leave. When all remnants of it were gone he focused his eyes around him. The first thing he saw was Marita, using her father's thin comb to battle with her thick hair, and he had to smile. She had a lot of spirit… and he bet that there were a fair few boys back home that were wrapped around her little finger.

A little ways away Jack, Kate and Ana were in deep discussion, the nametag from the Others laying between them as potent as another body. Sawyer was thrusting a twig at the fire to keep it roaring all the while darting glares at Christian, who was helping Sam crack open a coconut. He'd keep reaching around her to help her hold it in place. It seemed to Aaron that Christian was letting the touches linger a bit longer then maybe he should have.

As he was studying this flirtation Sam looked up and caught his eye, holding his gaze for a solid minute, cocking one of her sideways grins at him.

He raised his hand and waved at her and she rolled her eyes, returning to her coconut. Christian had noticed the exchange, but pretended not to.

"Aaron!" Ewan was tugging on his sleeve, bringing him back to the Pace Family section of the Caves.

"Yes, Trouble?"

Ewan handed him a half of a mango and retreated, the boy had been acting very odd since his near abduction…it probably wasn't very good that no one could really dedicate the time to helping him cope through it individually but what could they do? They were in one hell of a circumstance and there wasn't an In-Case-Of-Emergency button that froze time so one person could figure things out.

Not to mention, Ewan wasn't the only one acting weird. Keely was nearly mute and glued to their father's hip, their mother had yet to put Adah down for more then fifteen minutes and the baby was beginning to become frightened by the atmosphere. Seth…Seth was always quiet but he seemed downright paranoid, jumping at every little noise. Probably because that's what Charlie and Claire were doing. Charlie was also prone to fits of indignant rage, while Claire was becoming like a lioness protecting her cubs. She looked cute but she'd tear you apart if you got close.

Staring at his mango Aaron was caught off guard by the realization that he wasn't upset. He didn't feel like he'd been through a trauma. He felt…like they'd had a stressful time at the airport and were now on a nice vacation with other families. He felt oddly relaxed. Relaxed enough so that he was focusing on the only interesting body on the island as though she were the last girl alive. Maybe he was so stressed that his mind had blocked out all the stress and he was free of it…

But it was more then that. It was something about this place…he'd been born here. If he had never been told that he would've felt it in his bones. Something about the air here was different than it was anywhere else…something made him feel eerily at home.

He wasn't sure whether that was comforting or disturbing.

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_They didn't think of her mother as beautiful. Ana Lucia just wasn't the 'pretty' type. You liked her because of her grit, her nerve…you called her 'good looking' later. _

_And that's a hard legacy to have. Marita looked _a lot _like her mother, had most of her fire but none of her desire to put it to good use. At least…not anymore. _

_Christian might have been awkward but he was the picture of Jack and thus, was never ugly. Marita though … Marita had not been a pretty kid. When she looked at the mirror and compared it to her mother, she realized what she would become with no drive towards improvement. She would become the woman she loved…and hated._

_Ana had a _plan_ for Marita. A plan that followed the same path Ana herself had traveled down. A path that involved being heckled for her appearance, being let down for dates, and beating the shit out of the boys until she channeled her anger and made it into justice. Marita would become a Fury, a muse of revenge and fairness, and later find that special someone who liked that kind of spunk in a woman. Marita would become a model of accomplishment for the girls with "good personalities", just like Ana._

_That's why Marita was the way she was. She put years of effort into becoming one of the pretty girls with their noses in the air because she was afraid that she would never have it. If her mother had her way she certainly wouldn't have it. She would go through life as a wallflower, as some gargoyle guarding whatever feminist values the rejected girls of society are forced to acquire for the sake of survival._

_The problem was Marita had not altogether avoided her fate. Instead of being an ugly wallflower, now she was a pretty one. Skinny and well-groomed, what every boy wanted and ever girl hated…_

_And as invisible as before._

_It seemed to her the only time she was seen was when she was fighting. Being in the ring was better then center stage, because the blood of the enemy looked like wine under the luminance of the spotlight. Her flaws were blown out by the heat of the flashbulbs and for a moment she became some statue of a war goddess…some holy relic lined with barbed wire._

_The only problem with it was that she had dedicated so much time to becoming this that it was stigmatized in her mind, something evil and disgraceful. It was the ultimate fall of the angel…_

_Though perhaps her wings had always been clipped? And she was only now realizing that's why she had trouble flying…_

Marita sat quietly poking her black eye and feeling the scratches that were healing on her body. Cleaning the guns with her mother had since calmed her wild spirits and now she was merely bathing in the weak aftermath of rage. She was always angry, but normally she just came off as constantly simmering below a boil. For whatever reason this island brought out the full measure of her anger and brought it out all at once. She was feeling almost bipolar, one minute fine the next screaming in a frenzy fit to murder.

And for some reason seeing Sam was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. There was something about that girl that rubbed Marita the completely wrong way…

Maybe it was that Sam was, naturally and effortlessly, what Marita wanted to be…and acted the same as her. She had the best of both worlds with the unfortunate handicap of never being able to enjoy one of them.

Or maybe it was the example of their parents, Ana seemed to hate Sawyer and Kate with a kind of passion that couldn't be expressed, only felt. Jack, on the other hand, seemed happy to see Kate, almost relieved. A part of him smiled, a part of him laughed…it wasn't the same smile and laughter that her mother invoked…

Maybe that's what irked Marita.

Or maybe it was just the island. The mere feeling of the sand under her feet turned her stomach, and she was a beach bunny when she had the ability to be one back home. The crisp salty air seemed heavy on her lungs, like thick smoke that was slowly smothering her. Something about this island brought out her evil side, the dark side…

Maybe that's what scared her most of all.

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_They took her to museums sometimes. Always at Kate's behest. It would be below Sawyer to say that he enjoyed them or wanted his daughter breathing in that musky boredom. But whatever he may think, Sam enjoyed it. She saw other families there…being amongst the normal made her feel some small part of herself was normal too. _

_She remembered seeing an exhibit once of Artemis, the goddess of war. The goddess was standing on a field of gore and victory, her body immaculate and her face serene._

_They had to rip Sam away from it._

_She had to stare, she couldn't help it. Gazing at the painting she did not see a god, she saw her mother. Her mother sitting on the corpses of those behind her, bullet ridden walls and fire-blackened homes, but looking as harmful as Betty Crocker. Like the goddess, Kate could destroy with a flick of her wrist…and yet she never looked guilty._

_Sam never figured out whether that was her gift or her curse._

_The only thing Sam knew was that it was the reason she was always running, and the reason that she was alive…it was the reason for everything in Sam's life no matter how insignificant. It was as though her mother was all three Fates, creating, weaving and cutting the strands of Sam's life. _

_Whether Fate or mere goddess, so much of Kate affected Sam that she might as well have been both._

_Sam was used to that feeling…but that didn't mean she enjoyed it any more now then before._

The island was different from everywhere else Sam had ever been. It was the first place to stay immovable beneath her feet. She wasn't on a treadmill for the first time, the motion of her life had frozen in time…and as strange as it felt, she enjoyed it.

For the first time there were no cops, no FBI, no pursuers, no getting caught…not even the chance of it. They were alone here with two other families and strange doctors that tried to kidnap them. But hell… she wasn't being shot at. She wasn't being told it was time to go. She wasn't being teased with roots she could never have.

Sam felt solid on this island, solid after a lifetime of fluidity.

And she liked the people that were here, too. Each one as solid as the next, and each guaranteed to be there the day after next and the day after that.

She liked this alternate reality, this trap they were sitting in.

If this is how the mouse lived, damned if Sam was going to be the cat anymore.

**TBC**

Author's Note:

HOWDY!

Wow…its been almost two weeks? More then two weeks?

Well…I have good reason for this, I promise.

First off…my cowboy asked me out! First boyfriend! Shortly thereafter he became first lover…tonight I had to go pick up my first birth control (as baby-making is not on the High School agenda) and with all that going on…softball started. Which means not home til late anyway, and the boyfriend really takes a cut from that.

I have another song written, I just have to type it up….that might be your treat later this week (or be released next week if a new chapter looks iffy…)

But life's just been hectic! What can I say?

THANKS whoever stuck with it through the lull!


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